


Do you remember Summer '13?

by emilsia



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-04-27
Packaged: 2017-11-29 01:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilsia/pseuds/emilsia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norella woke to find herself alone in Niall Horan's bed, with no idea how she got there or who he was. Escaping in the middle of the night, she hopes that she'll never have to think about that night again. But Niall won't give up on her that easily</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where Am I?

Niall and Harry sat next to the bed of a lifeless girl, her black and purple hair cascading over the stark white hospital pillow. Clutching her limp hand between his own, Niall turned to Harry and exclaimed, “I should have gone out to get the icecream myself. I should never have let Norella cross the road alone. That should have been ME under that truck.”  
“Mate, you can’t help it if it was her that was hit. All you can do is be here for her as she recovers,” Harry responded.  
Staring intently at Norella, Niall sighed and said “I will do everything in my power to make sure she gets better and that I have her back in my life, as my best friend and girlfriend.”  
“I understand that, mate, but we’ve got a show tonight. If you’re not there, people will start to wonder. The accident has already made the news and it won’t take long for people to put two and two together that Norella was the purple-haired stranger you were spotted with. You gotta be on that stage tonight, and completely focused. You have to put this out of your mind.”  
Tears sprang to Niall’s eyes. “I know, Harry. I’ll be there. I just wish I could be here too. I’m the only family she’s got. Apart from those crazy friends.”

Dr Richard Busby entering the room interrupted Niall’s train of thought. “Good news, lads. Norella’s blood pressure is stabilized, she’s breathing on her own and her heart rate has returned to normal. I’d say she could go home this afternoon. She’ll be a little groggy for the next few days, and she’ll probably sleep a lot, but she should be back to her usual self in no time.”  
Niall looked hopefully up at the Dr. “So she’ll be ok? There’s no lasting damage?”  
A slight pause confirmed Niall’s worst fears. “Well, it’s always hard to tell with these things. Her CT shows no brain damage and all her scans are clear of internal bleeding, but until she wakes up properly we won’t know for sure. The worst case scenario is that she’ll have some amnesia – but in most cases this won’t last.”  
“Mmm-most?” Niall stuttered.  
Dr Richard Busby got a far away look in his eyes as he started to reminisce. “I remember this one girl, who never gained her memory back. Couldn’t even remember her own name.”  
Glancing at Niall’s increasingly worried face, Harry butt in, saying “But that was just that ONE TIME, right doc?”  
“Oh, of course. And recent case studies show that patients who wake up in a familiar environment are much more likely to suffer little to no amnesia, so now that Norella’s stable we think it’s best she’s discharged.”  
Getting a cheeky look in his eye, Harry quipped, “Well, Niall, I’m sure your bed is the place Norella is most familiar with.”  
Niall blushed a deep shade of red, giving his friend a look to tell him to shut up, while Dr Busby quietly chuckled to himself. “Ah, young love,” he said under his breath.

* * * * *

Discharge papers in hand, Niall pushed Norella’s wheelchair out to the car, while Harry chatted on the phone.  
“Yeah, yeah I know it’s a Friday night mate, but you gotta understand, we’ve got a concert and she can’t be left alone. We’ll be forever in your debt. Free concert tickets. Free beer. Anything” Harry paused, while listening to his friend’s response. He sighed in relief. “Thank you SO much mate. Yep, be at Niall’s at 5pm. You won’t have to do a thing. Watch TV, eat whatever you like from the kitchen, just make sure to be by Norella’s side when she wakes up so you can explain what’s happened. She’ll be pretty confused, so you just need to answer any questions she’s got. Thanks again, you’re a life saver.”  
Hanging up the phone, Harry looked over to Niall and smiled. “Problem solved, mate. We’ll go to the show, and Joshua will stay with Norella, so she’s not alone. You can spend all the time in the world with her once you’re home from the concert.”  
Niall smiled reluctantly, glancing down at his sleeping girlfriend, and whispered more to himself than to Harry, “Yeah, I guess. I just wish it was my face she saw first when she wakes up.”

* * * * *

Kissing Norella’s forehead, Niall gathered up his things and looked around the room, wishing he’d cleaned it up a bit.  
“Come on, Niall. The boys are waiting for us,” Harry said exasperatedly.  
“Yeah I know. Joshua – look after her and if anything changes or she looks worse, call an ambulance. Don’t take any risks with her.”  
Looking once more towards Norella, Niall then turned and headed out the door, followed by Harry who gave their friend a thumbs up as he left the room.

* * * * *

Joshua was bored. It was a Friday night and he was sitting at home, babysitting a comatose girl he had only met a few times before. Since when was his life this dull? He should have been out partying, drinking with friends. Hell, he’d even prefer to be his friends’ concert right now, even though he’d heard their songs a thousand times, both on the radio and at various band practices he’d attended. But instead, he was sitting in Niall’s darkened bedroom, trying to concert on some fantasy novel he’d found on the floor, a book he wasn’t sure belonged to Niall or if in fact it was Norella’s. Either way, it was rubbish.  
Throwing the book to the ground, Joshua stood up and looked towards Norella, who hadn’t moved in the last hour, and decided to make himself a sandwich. Harry HAD said after all the kitchen was free for him to raid. It wasn’t as if Norella was going anywhere any time soon.

Busy in the kitchen, pulling various things from the fridge and cupboards, Joshua didn’t hear Norella waking up in Niall’s bedroom.  
She had no idea where she was. The room was empty, except for the looming shadows of what looked like guitars next to her bed. It was dark and her head throbbed painfully. Where was she? And how did she end up here? Norella’s mind flicked back to all those episodes of CSI, NCIS and Criminal Minds she’d watched. She must have been kidnapped. There was no other explanation. She was in a strange place, with big gaps in her memory.  
Surveying the area, Norella gasped. There were pictures of her all over the room. Pictures of her laughing, pictures of her on the beach, and pictures of her in the arms of some blonde guy she had didn’t recognize. What the fuck?  
Norella sat up, using the nightstand to balance herself. Where was she? WHO was she? Mumbling to herself, she said, “My name is Norella. I’m 21 years old. My parents are Graham and Juliet Smith. They died in a car crash when I was 14 years old. I live at 67 Munroe Street with two of my best friends. And I’m in a strange bedroom surrounded by pictures of myself.”  
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Norella tested her legs to see if they were strong enough to hold her. She could feel the soft carpet beneath her feet, and when she tried to stand, she could, as long as she clutched onto something for support. Running away was going to be difficult, but she had to do her best.  
Slowly but surely, Norella stepped away from the bed and headed towards the door.  
Swaying slightly, she reached out to the dresser for balance and saw another photo of her and the strange blonde-haired man. Stroking his face, she couldn’t help appreciating how good-looking he was. “Snap out of this Norella,” she scolded herself, withdrawing her hand. “You don’t know who he is or how dangerous he could be. You need to leave!” And with that, she began her slow retreat from the bedroom.  
As she shuffled down the corridor, she could hear loud pop music emanating from another room. How weird, she thought to herself. Most crime I watch never have upbeat pop music playing. The loud music really didn’t help her headache either.  
As she got closer to the noise, she winced as the pain in her head nearly made her faint. She stopped as she felt the pain cloud her memory. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and whispered, “My name is Norella, I am 21, and I need to get out of here.”

She stopped outside the door that the music was pouring out of it. Peeking through the open door, she saw a man about her age head banging to the music. He appeared to be making food and didn’t seem aware of her presence in the doorway. He wasn’t the same man from the pictures – could this be the blonde-haired boy’s partner in crime? As she kept watching him, the man started to beat the music’s rhythm out on the counter, using his butter knife as a drumstick, with each hit resonating painfully inside Norella’s head. Each time the singers on the track said “rock you”, the man brought the knife down onto the counter, emphasizing the words, and emphasizing Norella’s headache.  
Knowing she needed to escape the noise quickly before she fainted, Norella slipped past the kitchen and the strange man and reached the front door. Stealing a pair of shoes by the door that fit her reasonably well, she opened the door, snatched one more glance at the house she had be captive in for however long, and slipped outside. She was free. At last.

* * * * *

After 10 minutes of walking around in the dark, Norella realized that this was hopeless. She didn’t know where she was, couldn’t find her cellphone and to top it off, her body felt like at any moment she was going to collapse.  
Looking around, Norella spotted a café that was still open. Pushing open the door, she was engulfed by a rush of warm air and as she sunk into a booth, she finally let out the breath that she hadn’t even realized she had been holding.  
Sitting in this place, she had a flashback of laughing and drinking coffee. Could this be somewhere she knows? Walking up to the counter, the women smiled and asked, “will it be your regular sweetie?”  
Simply nodding, Norella went back to her seat and start to cry – from happiness, from relief, and from the pain that hadn’t subsided in her head and aching body.  
Bringing her over her coffee, the women’s face fell when she saw Norella crying. “Whoa, Nori, what’s wrong babycakes?”  
Norella didn’t remember the women, but she felt like she could trust her. Norella looked at her kind face, which wa marred with concern and fear. Unable to find the words to explain what was happening, and struggling to find breath, all Norella could do was flail her arms about.  
The women just stared, and then calmly placed the coffee down on the table. “You drink this, sweetie, and I’ll get on the blower to those friends of yours. What are their names…Emilia and Elise right?”  
Norella nodded, recognizing the names of her good friends and roommates.

Norella had just finished her coffee when two girls she recognized burst through the door. Emilia came in first, rushing over to Norella and wrapping her up in a hug. Elise followed her in, walking into the table, before realizing it was there and maneuvering around it.  
Norella breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in what seemed like forever, here was something she recognized. Seeing her friends made her burst into tears again, and the two girls sat down at her booth, reassuring her that everything was going to be alright and that they were going to take her home.  
“I saw on the news about the accident. Well, heard. Saw is a little bit of a stretch,” Elise rambled, “and as soon as they gave your description I knew it must have been you. But we couldn’t find out what hospital they’d taken you to and when we finally got the right one, you had been discharged. Given we’re not family, they wouldn’t tell us anything! We’ve been trying your cellphone for hours but you never answered. We’ve been worried sick!”  
“We came here as soon as Rach here called us,” Emilia said, still hugging Norella.  
The confused look on Norella’s face revealed that she had no clue what they were talking about. “Accident?” she queried, looking between her two friends. “I guess that explains the headache.”  
Ignoring Norella, Emilia picked up from where Elise stopped. “Girl don’t you ever do that to us again! We broke nearly law trying to find you! And you know Elise isn’t any good at reading the speed signs while I’m driving!”  
“That’s because I’m BLIND,” Elise sighed.  
“Don’t use your eyes as an excuse E. You know I need help reading and driving!”  
Norella nodded slowly, careful not to exasperate that pain in her head. As much as she loved to see her friends, she was exhausted and ready to go to bed. Her own bed, not some stranger’s bed.  
Norella whistled as the two began to argue, rubbing her head as the sound pierced her skull. “Guys, I know you have questions and stuff but I am so tired, can we please go? My head is killing me…”  
Taking her hands and helping her up from the table, the two friends guided Norella to the door, Elise managing to only knock over one chair in the process. They called their thanks to Rach on their way out, they went over to Emilia’s car and settled Norella in for the ride home.

Norella sat in the front seat, watching Emilia drive. It was obvious from her body language that she was dying to ask Norella questions, but Norella had no energy left after her escape. Thankfully, Emilia kept the questions to herself and Norella silently thanked her for that. She closed her eyes as the pain and nausea swept over her.  
Before long, Emilia pulled up in front a house that Norella thankfully recognized. 67 Munroe St. Her home.  
Using Emilia’s arm for support, she got into the house, kicked off the odd fitting shoes and stumbled down the corridor to her bedroom. Pushing open the door, she was greeted by a familiar sight and the relief that poured over her made tears start to roll down her cheeks. What was up with her and crying today? She NEVER cried this much. Must have been that – accident? – that her friends had mentioned.  
Not bothering to change into pajamas, Norella crawled into bed, and before her friends had the chance to come and say goodnight, she was fast asleep.


	2. Re-education

Unbeknownst to Norella, her friends stood at her door. “Look at her, she’s dead to the world the poor thing…” Emilia said, her voice filled with concern.  
“I’ll have to take your word for it, “Elise whispered.  
Emilia rolled her eyes, glad her best friend couldn’t see her actions.  
Emilia continued to talk, as she lead Elise down the hall to the lounge. “I want to know how she got out of the hospital. They wouldn’t release her to just anyone. All her family is gone…”  
“Hmm,” Elise pondered. “Maybe it was that mystery man we saw her with?”

* * * * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Niall was furious.  
“HOW COUD YOU LEAVE HER?” he screamed.  
Joshua backed away from Niall, trying to explain. “Theoretically, mate, I didn’t leave her. I was in the kitchen. I was still in the house. She just managed to, well, leave.”  
Niall wasn’t having any of it. “It wouldn’t have mattered if you were in bloody Timbuktu. She would have woken up scared, alone. God knows where she thought she was.” Sinking onto the couch, Niall dropped his head into his hands. “I should never have gone to the concert tonight. Even if the public had found out about us, at least Norella would have been safe in my arms, and not scared out of her mind. How could I?”  
Harry and the rest of the band were standing around awkwardly, wanting to help but unsure how.  
“How about you give her a call? See if she’s ok?” suggested Liam.  
Reaching for the phone, Niall dialed the now familiar number of Norella and waited. A few seconds later he could hear it ringing, but it sounded close. Too close. He followed the sound, and walked into his room, to find Norella’s cellphone discarded on the floor. He hung up his phone, and looked to the others for help.  
“Call her at home?” Louis offered.  
Niall shook his head. “She’d never give me her home phone number. It was safer that way. No one knew we were dating. If they discovered a girl’s home number on my phone, who knows what would happen. We didn’t want the paparazzi to be all up in our business. And now look at where our caution got us. I have no idea where she is and have no way of contacting her.”  
“Dude, can’t you do some like GPS-ie trackery thing on her?” Zayn asked.  
“Nah bro, that’s only for lost phones. Her phone is here, which means that will just lead us to where we already are,” Louis explained.  
Zayn and nodded and scratched his head. “Maybe Perrie would have her number? They’ve hung out before, right?”  
Niall rose from the couch. Zayn was right! Niall could have kissed Zayn, but chose to instead gesture towards him, saying, “Well hurry and ring her then, Zayn!!!!”  
While Zayn talked on the phone to Perrie, all Niall could hear was a series of “yeah” and “uh-huh” from Zayn. Niall was growing impatient and nearly stole the phone from Zayn’s hand, but he knew that he must stay calm, if he was ever going to find Norella.  
Zayn got off the phone, looking sad. “I’m really sorry. Perrie said Norella had to leave before she could get her details…”  
Niall sank back into the couch, head in his hands again. How could this happen? Norella always said things happened for a reason but Niall was at a loss. He couldn’t fathom how something like this would happen to her. She was sweet and caring, sassy and sexy, the way she flipped her hair made him hold his breath, her glowing brown orbs could see into his soul.  
His manager telling the band that the cars were ready to go and they needed to leave now, if they wanted to get to their next destination in time for their show tomorrow, snapped Niall out of his daydream however.  
Niall slowly dragged his tired and sore body off the couch. He walked to the door with the other boys, wondering where Norella was, what she was doing, and was she safe.

* * * * *

Norella woke with a start. Damn it, she thought. She’d had a terrible sleep for the third day straight. All these dreams with the blonde-haired boy and then being dragged away kicking and screaming from him. Sighing she put on her slippers and padded into the living room.  
Relaxed on the couches in the lounge were Emilia and Elise, and they smiled upon her entering the room.  
Norella smiled back. Her headache was finally easing, and she felt more like herself. If she stood up too quickly, she still got a dizzy, but at least she could now think straight. Well, as straight as possible, given that she still couldn’t remember anything that had happened to her over the last few months. Norella could see that her friends were dying to ask her more questions about the incident and now that she was starting to feel better, she felt like she was up to fielding their questions. “Go ahead,” she said.  
“You mean you don’t remember the accident at all?” quizzed Emilia.  
“Not at all. Everything’s really foggy. I remember bits and pieces. Studying for a test – though which test I don’t know, and when that was I’m unclear. I remember coffee dates with you guys at that café. I remember something about a concert. But apart from that I’m drawing a blank.” Norella took a sip from her coffee, and tried to look unphased by her memory loss. In reality, she hated not knowing what had happened to her and she hated worrying her friends.  
“Don’t worry,” reassured Elise. “After I’ve taken my meds at night I don’t remember anything either! You get used to the feeling”  
Norella tried to feel comforted by Elise’s words but in truth she was still thinking about the guy she was in all those pictures with. Who was he? Now that her headache was subsiding she decided it was time to act. Trying to act nonchalant about it, she casually asked her friends, “Do you guys know anything about a group – they could be a band, or maybe a sports team – called One Direction?”  
The girls started laughing. “Good one N,” chuckled Elise.  
“What’s funny? I asked you if knew them…” Norella looked puzzled, confused why the faces staring back at her had looks of amusement on them. “What did I say?”  
Emilia looked like she was going to faint. Elise steadied herself before asking, “You don’t remember who One Direction are? At all?”  
Norella shook her head.  
Emilia let out a gasp. “Oh God, you must remember them!”  
Elise nodded enthusiastically. “yeah Em is right. You have to know all about them!”  
Emilia stood up from the couch and proclaimed, “This is a very serious matter that must be resolved this instant!”  
Norella interrupted Emilia’s enthuses speech with uncontrollable laughter. Emilia was wearing a One Direction onesie that had feet and a hood with ears. Norella couldn’t contain herself.  
Emilia huffed and said, “Well when you’re done laughing at my awesome pajamas, I’ll continue my epic speech!”  
Elise couldn’t help laughing at Emilia’s tirade, and Norella chuckled, saying “Sorry. Sorry. Continue oh awesome one.”  
“Right where was I? Oh yeah. THIS CALLS FOR RE-EDUCATION!!”  
Norella groaned. “Guys I just wanted to know what they were. Not every little thing about them.”  
“Well then you shouldn’t have asked us about them! Right come on, drink up. It’s 1D time.”  
Emeiia bounced down the hall, humming a familiar tune.  
Elise pulled Norella along with her down to Emilia’s room. As soon as they entered, Norella saw a number of familiar posters. They were the same that she had seen in the bedroom where she woke up. While she stared at the walls and tried to work out what was going on, Emilia opened up her laptop and started playing a song that got both Emilia and Elise up and dancing in no time.  
“I’ve tried playing it cool, but when I’m looking at you I can never be brave, because you make my heart race” Emilia and Elise sang along in such a carefree manner that Norella realized that sing-alongs like these must not be a new thing for the friends. She vaguely remembered doing something similar with them and other girls, at the beach, crowded around a fire, playing guitar and singing, but she couldn’t remember what songs had been sung that night.  
Smiling at the two girls dancing and singing, Norella bobbed her head to the music, agreeing that it was certainly catchy and she could understand why she must have liked their stuff in the past. Looking at the posters of One Direction on Em’s wall, one in particular stood out. It looked liked what would have been an album cover, five boys crowded around a red telephone box. At first glance, they just looked like any five young men, having fun together. But when she looked again, she realized that while four of the guys were strangers to her, one looked familiar. Very familiar.  
Inside the telephone box was a blonde-haired guy she had seen plenty of pictures of a few days ago. It was the same guy she was photographed with. Was it the same guy?  
Turning around to her friends, she pointed at the poster and trying to keep her voice calm, asked “Who are these guys?”  
Elise smiled “That’s them! That’s One Direction!! You see the guy on top of the box? That’s Liam. He’s the best. And the cutest!”  
Emilia laughed, “In Elise’s opinion, that is! Louis’ the one being lifted up to Liam – he’s Georgina’s favourite. Louis is sitting on top of Zayn’s shoulders. Harry is the one looking at them, and inside the telephone box, that’s Niall. He’s Irish.”  
Niall. Norella said the name aloud and tried to see if it brought back any familiar memories but it didn’t. Maybe she was mistaken; maybe it wasn’t the guy she saw in the photos. After all, she was in a state of shock that night. Her memory wasn’t really to be trusted right now.  
Unaware of the internal debate going on inside Norella’s head, Elise kept talking. “The funny thing about Niall is that everyone thinks he has a girlfriend but nobody has actually seen her. There’s this one photo that was taken of them together, but all you can see are the ends of her hair and sweatshirt. That’s it. Not a lot to go by.”  
“But,” Emilia added, “the really interesting part is that the girls’ sweatshirt? It’s an East hoodie. From our class of ’09. Unfortunately you can’t work out the nickname on the hoodie – that would have made things a whole lot easier, but you can definitely tell it’s an East hoodie. No doubt about that.”  
Norella took this in. Niall was dating someone from East. Someone from their year group. And she’d seen all of those pictures of them together. Could that possibly mean that she was the mystery girlfriend? And if that was the case – did she run away from her attractive, talented, Irish boyfriend on that night after the accident, leaving nothing behind but memories and unspoken words?  
The idea was too much to handle. She asked the girls to send her the link to the photo so she could look at it later. Right now, she didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy the music and dance with her friends They of course knew all the words and dance moves, and were having a great time dancing around Emilia’s room, singing into hair brushes. She had picked them well. One was tall, with brown hair, which she almost always wore up because she hated brushing the knots out, and the other was almost blind, but had a heart of gold. She realized that even if Niall was her boyfriend, or even just her friend that she would remain grounded as long as she had Emilia and Elise.


	3. Mystery Solved!

After a week on the road, doing a small promotional tour for the new season of X-Factor, Niall was back in town. He waved goodbye to the rest of the band, as he opened his front door and went inside. The boys were all going off for pizza with Simon, but Niall was in no mood to celebrate. He dumped his bag in the entranceway, and made for the phone, hurriedly checking to see if there was any voice messages, silently hoping Norella may have made contact with him during his absence.  
Niall was to be disappointed. The only message was from the local library, requesting he return his book as soon as possible, otherwise he would be charged for it. Niall sighed. Norella had been in the middle of reading that book and was really enjoying it. He’d rather pay than have her disappointed that she couldn’t find out what happens in the end. “What am I saying?” Niall said to himself, shaking his head. Norella’s gone. But he still couldn’t bring himself to return that book. He’d leave it beside his bed for when the love of his life returned.  
In his heart, Niall was still hopeful that she would return. It was this hope that had gotten him through the week’s tour.  
In every interview, reporters and fans asked him about his mystery girlfriend. What was her name? How did they meet? Were they still together? Why wouldn’t they appear together in public? The questions were overwhelming. Niall just wanted to stand up and scream that they couldn’t be seen together because she had run away, but decided the last thing he needed right now was all the rumours that would circulate after hearing this piece of juicy gossip. No doubt someone would claim he was an abusive boyfriend, or that there were drugs involved.  
So instead, Niall sat quietly, listening to the reporters ask him the same questions, day after day, and just smiled and nodded, saying as little as possible.  
The rest of the boys did their best to cover for him. Louis joked that the only girlfriend Niall had was the inflatable one in his room that he got for Secret Santa last year. But the questions kept coming, and at the end of each interview all Niall felt was an aching in his heart for his girlfriend who had gotten away. He just wished they could start over again.

* * * * 

Norella sat staring at her computer screen. It felt like the hundredth time that day that she had examined this picture, and every time she came to the same conclusion. She was Niall’s mystery girlfriend. The picture showed Niall holding hands with a girl, just out of shot. All that could be seen of her was a mass of dark hair, with purple-tinted ends, and as Elise and Emilia had previously discussed, a recognizable East leaver’s hoodie. Norella got up and pulled her hoodie out of the wardrobe. Holding it up to the light, she could see the stain on the right sleeve, from when she’d spilled coffee on it. She’d only had it a week or so before she marked it and the stain refused to come out! Looking closely at the photo on her computer screen, Norella gasped when she realized that the hoodie in the photo was sporting the same stain. This confirmed it. She just HAD to be Niall’s girlfriend.  
Norella’s heart ached. She longed to call him and explain why she’d run away. To ask questions about how they’d met, what they did together, how long they’d been a couple, anything to piece together the parts of her memory that she’d lost. But she had no way of contacting him. Her phone was at his house and after searching her room from top to bottom, she couldn’t find any numbers scribbled down. She couldn’t even trust herself knowing how to get back to his house. It was dark when she’d escaped and her mind was so confused she didn’t pay any attention to the street, houses or landmarks.  
Feeling overwhelmed and confused, Norella’s head started to ache again. She needed to talk to her friends about this. But if they didn’t already know that Niall and her were dating, would telling them be the best idea? They would freak out for sure. Was their relationship a secret for a reason? And how would they take her lying to them?  
Sighing, Norella realized that she was done with the lies and secrecy. She needed to unravel this mystery and her best friends needed to know.  
Norella walked out of her room and found her friends. She knew that if she suggested coffee, both girls would jump at the idea. After all, coffee was their weakness.  
“YES,” the two girls exclaimed, after hearing Norella’s suggestion of a coffee date. Norella smiled and everyone went off to change.  
They hopped into Emilia’s car and they drove to their local joint. Upon entering the coffee shop, Norella was hit with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and baking pastries. No wonder she loved this place. Her stomach growled in anticipation.  
A warm smile greeted her and her friends when they approached the counter. “Nori! Em! Eli! Where have you been? We’ve missed you round here! The last time we saw you you were a mess Norella – we’ve been worried!”  
The girls laughed and launched into the memory loss and how they’d had to re-teach Norella about One Direction and everything else.  
But Norella wasn’t listening to their ramblings. She turned to face the booths and sighed. How could she think that Niall was trying to hurt her that night?! She had overreacted. She’d been scared, but running was the wrong thing to do. The very idea that someone as sweet as that could hurt her made her shudder. But how did she suddenly know that Niall was a lovely and caring man? She couldn’t remember ever meeting the guy! But over the last few days she’d watched endless videos of interviews and concert footage, and he seemed happy, caring and genuine. In his latest one, however, he just seemed sad and confused. Had she caused his despair?  
Norella was woken from her thoughts by Emilia clicking her fingers in her face. “Norella! Wakey wakey! Coffee time!” She paused, then added, “You’re paying, by the way.”  
Norella groaned. She had forgotten what happens when the girls and her get coffee. They made her pay. Well, Emilia tried to get out of paying for anything, but in a loveable she’s-so-broke sort of way.  
After paying, the time had come for Norella to tell the girls her theory regarding Niall and her. She just hoped she didn’t come off as crazy.  
With a deep breath, Norella interrupted her friends chattering. “Guys, I think I’m Niall’s girlfriend…”  
The girls started to laugh, but their faces changed when Norella just looked at them. They stopped laughing.  
“Uhh, dear I think the accident might have done something to your brain! You aren’t Niall’s girlfriend. You can’t be. You would have told us. Right, Elise?” Emilia looked to Elise for support.  
Elise nodded.  
Norella shook her head. “I know this sounds crazy, guys, and I know you can barely trust me because I’m some crazy girl who was just hit by a truck and can’t remember a thing about these past few months, but trust me on this one. I’m his girlfriend. I’ve looked at that photo you sent me – you know that one of Niall and his girlfriend? At the time that was taken, my hair must just have been dyed. It’s fading now, but I think it would have been that bright at the time of the photo. And that hoodie? I checked mine and we have a stain IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE. I’m serious.” Looking at her friends, Norella dropped her voice, and added in a completely serious tone, “And guys, I did like 4 different personality tests online today and we are 100% compatible!”  
Emilia and Elise looked at each other and then looked to their friend. Norella was obviously convinced by her discoveries, but could they actually have been a couple? Niall was an international pop star, and the two girls had never heard anything from Norella’s mouth about spending time with One Direction or Niall. Could she really have kept this secret from them the whole time?  
Elise was the first to speak. “Ok, so let me get this straight. Niall’s mystery girlfriend - the girl from East with slightly purple hair and a stained hoodie - is you?”  
“Was me. Is me. I don’t know, anymore. I’m sure that before my accident we were a couple. Now, I’m not so sure. The nigh I ran away, I think I ran away from his house. What I never told you was that in the room I awoke in, there were heaps of photos of me on the walls and in frames. Photos of just me, and photos of a blonde-haired guy and me. A guy who looks exactly like Niall Horan. At the time, I thought he was so creepy stalker, but now I think – no, I know – he’s my boyfriend.” Placing her forehead on the table and sighing loudly, Norella finished her confession, saying, “I’m Niall Horan’s girlfriend and I have no means of contacting him.”  
Emilia reached for Norella’s hand, and Elise rubbed her back. “We believe you. And we’ll help you find him. It’ll work out,” reassured Emilia.  
Staring off into the distance blindly, Elise muttered quietly, “It explains all those nights you were out so late. Thought it was strange how you studying so religiously all of a sudden.”  
Emilia laughed. “I thought the excuse that you’d signed up to a rapping class was more believable!”  
Norella lifted her head and smiled and her friends. She knew it was the right decision to talk to them about this. And she was forever grateful that they didn’t right her off as plain crazy straight away.

The touching moment between friends was interrupted by Emilia’s phone ringing. Not recognizing the number, Emilia answered, casually saying, “Sup, bro. Emilia here,” into the receiver. An unreadable look passed over Em’s face as the person on the other end of the line responded and Emilia visibly stiffened, sitting up straighter and getting a serious look on her face. “Mmm-ms Maguire. Hi. Hello. Wow, umm, good afternoon, ma’am. Ms. Sorry.”  
Elise stifled a laugh as she saw Emilia awkwardly maneuvering around this conversation. Norella just looked confused. Elise leaned over and explained, “Ms. Maguire is our old principal from East.”  
Norella raised an eyebrow at her friend. “I can remember that part! I just don’t understand why she’d be calling Emilia!”  
As if on cue, Emilia pulled the phone away from her ear and handed it across the table to Norella. “Ms. Maguire would like to speak to you about next week’s concert.”  
Norella mouthed the word “concert?” at Emilia, before taking the phone and greeting her old principal. Her friends could vaguely make out Ms. Maguire asking if Norella was still up for organizing the concert for this week, given her recent accident. Norella reassured her that she would be fine, and was looking forward to it, covering up well that she had no clue what the concert was or why she of all people was in charge of organizing it.  
Elise looked towards Emilia. “Concert? Nobody ever told me about a concert.”  
Emilia guiltily looked at the table, glad that her friend was part blind and couldn’t see her face easily. The concert was supposed to be a secret. Emilia was spared having to think of an excuse, by Norella hanging up the phone and saying, “That’s all sorted. Now we should get back to working out how to find that hunk of Irish goodness, Niall!”  
All talk of the concert was abandoned, and while Norella and Emilia kept it in the backs of their minds, it completely slipped out of Elise’s thoughts.

Later that night, after Elise had gone to bed, her pain acting up, Emilia sat Norella down and explained about the benefit concert they had been organizing before the accident.  
“Elise really needs that guide dog so she can go to Uni without the fear of being hit by a car. But the company is charging her over $15,000. So we’ve been organizing this concert to help raise money.”  
Norella smiled. This was perfect. A project to keep her distracted from her thoughts of Niall and what could have been, had she not run that night. Or better yet, if that truck hadn’t hit her in the first place. “Who’s playing?” she inquired.  
“Little Mix, and a headlining act that you’ve kept very secretive from everyone involved! Some music groups from East are opening the night – sort of like their reward for letting us use the school as a venue.”  
Norella nodded. She wondered who the main act was going to be. She reminded herself to search her room later to see if she could find any planning books. She must have written down her ideas SOMEWHERE. Although she wasn’t entirely sure about the details, the more she heard from Em about the concert, the more she was convinced that it was going to not only do great things for their friend, but it was also going to R-O-C-K rock.

* * * * *

One Direction were in the middle of rehearsal, when their manager Simon walked in, signaling to Niall to stop playing guitar. Once he had secured all the lads’ attention, Simon began to talk. “Right guys, firstly reviews coming out about our X-Factor promotional tour are great. Everybody loves the new CD and the new sound, and can’t wait to hear more from you guys. This is the perfect lead up to the announcement coming out next week about the world tour. The music scene is full of talk about the five of you and I can guarantee you that shows are going to sell out fast.”  
The boys all smiled at each other. Zayn let out a few hoots of glee, while Liam smiled broadly. Harry and Louis leaned over to each other and exchanged a few good high fives. Niall just smiled, preferring to stay in his corner instead of interacting with the others. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t pleased for the band. He was stoked it was doing so well. After he had heard that “no” at boot camp, his dreams of being a pop sensation had all but died, but Simon and Nicole had revived them with the creation of One Direction. And Niall didn’t think that any had thought they would have been as successful as they had. But he still struggled to enjoy this moment, knowing that Norella wasn’t here to enjoy it with him. She had always been so supportive of the band, and especially of him, and it just felt wrong to be here, celebrating their success, without Norella’s company.  
Niall shook his head and focused back on Simon and what he was saying. “But before we start preparations for the world tour, we’ve got a few more local shows to play. Nothing too big – I can’t remember them all off the top of my head, but there’s definitely one at the local Children’s Hospital next week. So in your upcoming practices, work on finalizing some set lists. None of the concerts require more than 40 minutes of materials. So pick your favourite songs, the stuff that you might not always get to perform in the bigger shows. Have fun with it! Use these are practices for the big tour – try out different song orders and choices. I’m handing the control over to you guys for these. You’ve earned it, and I trust you’ll do a good job.” Smiling at the band in front of him, he picked up his stuff and headed to the door. Turning to them, he added, “and Harry? Try not to add TOO many more suggestive dance moves into the routine. The girls already look like they’re going to faint when you all start singing.” Chuckling, Simon left the studio and the boys got busy writing their set lists, wondering what the venues for their upcoming shows were going to be like.


	4. Could It Be?

Norella and the girls only had a week till the concert. Norella had tried in vain to find any sign of who the other band was that was playing. No one else on the planning committee had any idea either. It was frustrating – agonizingly so – but Norella had to keep going. There was so much to do!  
A little part of her hoped that One Direction was the other band. I mean, she was sleeping with one of the people in the band. That had to give her some pull over them right?  
Sighing to herself, she went to help Emilia and Elise put up the banner, out the front of the school. Elise had questioned them about the concert until they had reluctantly admitted that there was in fact a concert coming up but she, like everyone else, was going to have to wait to find out more. Although frustrated that she wasn’t being told everything, Elise was a sucker for organizing events and details, so she agreed to help out with the mystery concert.  
While Norella tried to busy herself with the banner, the thought of being in Niall’s arms and making love to him overwhelmed her. She wondered if they’d had sex or not. She hated not remembering the details…  
“Norella, is this straight?!” Emilia yelled from up the ladder.  
Norella was still wrapped up in thoughts of a naked Niall, sheets tangled, bedding everywhere…  
“NORELLA I ASKED IF THIS WAS STRAIGHT!!!!” Emilia huffed. She was getting impatient.  
“Oh yeah, that’s good!” she finally replied.  
“You sure? I think the left side is a little low…” Elise said.  
The other girls stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. Emilia got down off the ladder and grabbed her friend’s hand. “Uhh, can you see it, Elise?”  
“Well, not really, but it is more blurry on one side so I guessed it wasn’t straight?” she quietly offered as an answer, blushing slightly.  
Norella looked at the sign and back to her friend, then back to the sign. “Actually,” Norella pondered, “She’s right…”  
“I am?” Elise was confused.  
“Yeah, come look Em.” Emilia moved herself to in front of the sign.  
“Huh, you are right. Maybe you aren’t so blind after all!”  
The girls laughed, as they fixed the sign and then went inside. Following them, Elise promptly tripped up the stairs. “Nope guys it’s ok. I’m still blind!”  
Their laughs echoed around the vestibule as they entered the school, making their way to the hall to check that all the sound equipment they were going to need was working. A woman calling for Norella caused them to stop and turn.  
Ms. Maguire was walking up towards them. Emilia and Norella could see the smile on her face, and Elise could tell she was happy from the sound of her step. There was a certain excitement to the way she was walking – very unlike her usual gait. The girls stopped and waited for the principal to catch up with them.  
“I just got a call from the band and they’re all on for next Friday.”  
The girls smiled widely, pleased that everything was coming together so well. Norella was dying to ask who the band was, but there were people milling around and she knew Ms. Maguire wasn’t going to reveal any names while people outside the committee could hear.  
“So, I’ll see you all on Friday, yes? Early afternoon in time to set up the hall and the decorations?”  
The girls all nodded, excitement building over the concert, and they headed up to the lighting and sound booth. After checking that everything was working and where it should be, Norella suggested that they grab a coffee together, before heading home. Emilia nodded instantly, craving the caffeine hit she sorely needed. Elise started to explain she had an essay to work on but the girls chose to ignore her, insisting she was free and would L-O-V-E to spend the afternoon with them!

* * * * *

The week flew by. All three girls had so much to do at Uni that they barely had time to think about the upcoming concert. Well, Elise and Emilia at least barely thought about. Norella couldn’t stop thinking about it. She kept imaging how amazing it would be to see Niall walk out on that stage. She pictured the look on his face when he saw her. Imagined what it would be like to kiss him, not caring about all the people watching them. Blushing, Norella gently scolded herself. It was silly to get her hopes up. One Direction were the hottest thing right now, and the chances of them coming to a school benefit concert was nearly non-existent. But a girl could dream right?

Thursday night saw Emilia, Elise and Norella lying on the couch together, drinking hot chocolate and singing along to “Up All Night”.  
Smiling, Norella said “As much as I’d like to stay up all night with you lovely ladies, tomorrow’s a big day. I really should be getting to bed.”  
Her friends agreed and they slowly disentangled themselves from the blankets and cushions surrounding them on the couch. They each made their way to their rooms, saying goodnight to one another.  
Elise and Emilia fell asleep quickly, exhausted from a busy week. But Norella lay awake, daydreaming about what tomorrow would bring. She hoped it was going to be a reunion between her and the man she believed was her boyfriend. She smiled at the thought. Getting to kiss Niall would the perfect way to end the week. And the perfect way to start a new chapter in her life.  
Thinking of his soft lips on her’s, Norella finally fell asleep, a smile on her face, and a flutter of hope in heart.

* * * * *

Niall let out a huff as he lifted a speaker into his car. “We are multi-millionaires and have a number of hit songs. Tell me again why we still have to pack our own car?”  
“Niall, it’s to keep us grounded,” Zayn said, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder.  
“Fuck being grounded,” Harry sighed. “I can have any girl and anything I want. Why are we not paying people to do our shit for us?”  
“Because it teaches us the value of hard work and the value of a dollar. I don’t about you guys but I want to find a girl and settle down and have some kids, and of course all those things are expensive. You know what some girls are like, always I want, I want, and then us being like, that’s crazy…” Liam said as he brought out two guitar cases.  
“Hey that would make a good song, Liam,” Louis pondered.  
Niall was focused on what Liam had just said, about wanting to find a girl to settle down with. Niall had that in Norella, and he wanted that back. He wanted her back. And he definitely wouldn’t mind having more practice at making babies with her. Damn. The thought of it made him tingle all over. Everything about her made his heart race, and that side of their relationship was no exception.  
Niall had to stop thinking about her before it became very apparent to the others where his thoughts were at, not to mention very straining for him. At this rate, he would definitely need a cold shower and a shot of something strong when he got home.  
But Liam was right. The future was something that needed some thought. He just wished he could talk to Norella about it. She would probably blush, and then smirk that sexy grin of hers…shaking his head and taking some deep breaths, Niall decided to call it a night.  
After saying goodbye to the boys, Niall got in his car and headed home. If he was being honest with himself, though, it didn’t really feel like home without Norella there. She completed anywhere she went. He felt almost lost in his own house, without her around.  
Niall thought about eating but he really didn’t feel like it.  
After the workout of loading the car, he could feel the ache in his muscles, not to mention the ache in his heart. He decided to shower and go to bed early. He needed his sleep for the concerts tomorrow.  
As he lay down, he pulled the covers up to his chin and hugged her pillow. He could still smell her shampoo on the cover, and he closed his eyes with a smile on his face. The lingering smell of her in his room gave him hope of her one day returning, and them picking up where they left off.

* * * * *

Friday had finally arrived. Elise and Emilia had spent the whole day helping Norella at the school, setting up the hall, organizing all the seating and getting the place looking amazing. Everything had to be perfect. They’d had an amazing response to the concert – most tickets already sold in the pre-sale, with a small portion being held for door sales. It was better than anyone could have imagined.

7pm hit and streams of people begun to arrive. Emilia was back stage, organizing the bands and performers, making sure they knew the order of the night. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Elise and Norella were on front of house – Elise in charge of welcoming the guests, while Norella took them to their seats. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and anticipation. Everyone was wondering who the mystery band was going to be and people couldn’t wait for things to kick off at 8pm.  
Eventually everyone had taken their seats and Emilia had emerged from backstage, announcing to her friends that all the bands were ready to go. “Let’s get this show on the road,” she excitedly said, smiling.  
“WHO’S THE MYSTERY BAND?” Norella squealed, trying to be as quiet as possible, but before Emilia had the chance to reply, Ms. Maguire had taken her place on stage and was tapping the microphone.  
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Before I pass this over to the fantastic group of young ladies who organized this event, I firstly just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved in making tonight happen. I know it’s going to be a great success and we are all so appreciative of the time and money you have generously given to be here tonight. And without further ado, I’d like to introduce past East students and organizers of this fantastic evening, Norella and Emilia.”  
The hall resounded in cheers and applause as the two girls took the stage, squeezing Elise’s hand before leaving.  
Norella took the microphone and looked out at the crowded hall. “Wow. The turnout tonight is incredible and better than we could have pictured. Thank you all so much for making this happen. As many of you will know, tonight is not just about meeting together and having a good time – although I certainly hope that you do have an amazing evening. Tonight is also about raising money for our good friend, Elise.”  
Elise felt, more than saw, hundreds of pairs of eyes turn her way. She knew her cheeks were going bright red. Her good friend Georgina, who was sitting beside her, turned and gave her a huge smile. “You never found out?” she asked quietly.  
Elise shook her head. “Nnn-no. This is the first I’ve heard of it!” she answered.  
Meanwhile on stage, Emilia had taken the second microphone and was explaining Elise’s need for her guide dog. “Academically, we don’t need to worry about Elise. She’s more than capable in that regard”, Em was saying, earning a hearty laugh from the audience, before continuing to say, “but physically, it’s a struggle. The University is not designed well for blind students and this dog is going to make such a difference in her life. Because of your support tonight, Elise is going to be able to go to Uni safely and independently. And for that, we can never thank you enough!”  
Applause shook the room, as Georgina pulled Elise out of her seat, pushing her to the stage. Elise smiled widely as she took the first stair, and proceeded to trip up the next two, severely misjudging how tall the steps were. One would almost think it was planned to emphasize the points made in Norella and Emilia’s speech, but the horrified look on Elise’s face said otherwise.  
Straightening herself she went and stood with her friends and smiled at the audience, in what she hoped was the right direction. “Umm, this way, sweetie,” Em whispered, pointing her friend towards the audience.  
Laughing, Norella grabbed her microphone off the stand and announced, “May I introduce to you the first act of the evening – Little Mix!”

Little Mix arrived on stage and hugged the girls. Perrie hugged Norella especially hard and whispered in her ear, “Finally! I’ve missed you Nori! It’s like you dropped off the face of the earth!”  
Before Norella could say anything, Perrie was dragged off into her starting position for “Wings”.  
Norella turned to walk off stage, followed by Emilia and Elise, as the band started to play. Norella really like the positive message that “Wings” had. She was definitely a fan.  
The way that Perrie had talked to her was as if they were good friends. Niall’s girlfriend and friends with Little Mix? Wow, Norella had forgotten a lot!  
As the band started to into the chorus of the song, Norella began to dance in the wings of the stage with Emilia. Elise quietly sang along, smiling at her friends.

The band played the final chord of “D.N.A” and thanked the audience. The crowd clapped enthusiastically and as Norella, Emilia and Elise made their way down to their seats in the front row, butterflies started to grow in Norella’s stomach. It wouldn’t be long before the mystery band was to appear on stage.  
The three girls sat down and inwardly groaned as a group of East students came out, introducing themselves as the concert band. Elise knew from experience of having been in this group that they never practiced and chose all their own repertoire. This was going to be interesting.  
The band started a jazz arrangement of Ed Sheeran’s “You Need Me Man, I Don’t Need You”. It was recognizable, but horrifically out of tune. The girls cringed.  
“At least you can tell what song it is,” Emilia reasoned with her friends. “That’s a start.”  
Norella shook her head. “I may not remember many things, but I certainly remember how much I love Ed Sheeran and they, my friends, are ruining one of my favourite songs!”  
Emilia and Elise couldn’t help laughing at the serious expression on Norella’s face. She looked like she was physically in pain!

After a few more musical performances by East students – none of them as cringe worthy as the first – the stage cleared once more, and Norella sucked in her breath. It had to be time for the headlining act. The concert had been going on for well over an hour.  
Trying to breathe normally, Norella’s friends could sense her nervousness and Emilia reached out for her hand.  
“Just breath,” she advised gently. Norella nodded and tried her best to follow Em’s advice.  
But Norella’s anticipation and nervousness grew as the next band made their way on stage. Holding her breath, she waited to see a sign of the blonde hair she had seen in so many photographs. It was nowhere to be seen.  
Three boys were standing before her, one with light brown hair and the other two wearing caps. They didn’t look anything like One Direction.  
Ever hopeful that they were in face stage managers, rearranging the equipment for the actual band, Norella felt her heart sink when they introduced themselves as Emblem3 and started to strum some chords. It wasn’t that they were necessarily bad. It was just that they weren’t One Direction.  
Thinking of all of her daydreams of Niall arriving on stage and them being reunited, Norella sighed. She had been so stupid to think that One Direction would come to a concert like this. What was she thinking? Norella tried not to let her tears fall down her cheeks, as she put all thought of One Direction out of her mind. Reality had ruined her life.


	5. It's Not Over

Norella was barely aware of the rest of Emblem3’s performance. Staring at her lap, she did her best to hold in tears, knowing that once she was back home and safely hiding in her room she could let them out. How could she have been so wrong? And if she had been wrong about One Direction coming to the concert, who was to say that she wasn’t wrong about Niall being her boyfriend, too. It all seemed so ridiculous now that she thought about it. The accident must have knocked her about more than she’d realized. All of this – the dreams about the concert, being Niall’s girlfriend, sleeping in his arms, making love to him, kissing him goodnight – all of that was simply a figment of Norella’s imagination. She had been delusional.

Niall and the boys had one last concert, and it was at a venue that seemed vaguely familiar. He couldn’t be sure but he thought that this was Norella’s old high school. He’d never been here before but he’d heard her talking about the plays her and her school house Fergusson had put on here – plays which had sounded hilarious but not always approved of by the teachers! If this was the same school, did that mean Norella might be here?! Simon had told them very little about this last concert. He’d mentioned that it was a benefit concert for a young woman and that it was a personal favour to a friend. That was all Niall knew. Thinking of Norella, he was suddenly full of energy and was more excited to hit the stage than at any other concert he’d done so far. Maybe Norella was out there, waiting for him too.

Loud screams erupting from the crowd woke Norella from her state of reverie. What on earth was all the fuss about? The band that had been playing weren’t THAT good! Looking up from her lap, Norella’s mouth dropped. No longer was the stage preoccupied by those three boys. Now there were five new boys on stage – and they were gorgeous. Not only were they gorgeous, they were familiar.  
Norella couldn’t believe it. Standing in front of her were the five boys she’d studied so furiously off the Take Me Home poster. She reached to pinch herself, certain that this, like everything else she’d been imagining these past few weeks, was not real. But the pinch certainly hurt. Did that meant this was actually happening?  
Norella looked to Elise for confirmation. “Elise, is that One Direction? Please tell me I’m not crazy. It IS One Direction. Right??”  
Elise raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Umm, are you seriously asking me to confirm something? Something I need to see??”  
Norella blushed and let out a laugh. “Omg, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking, it’s just, they LOOK like One Direction. But they can’t be here. They wouldn’t be here…would they?”  
Emilia turned to Norella and smiled, “Surprise! I saw them backstage before and decided to leave it a secret. I almost let it out when you looked so sad during Emblem3’s set. But your reaction now made it totally worth keeping it a secret!”  
Liam stepped up to the microphone and introduced the band. Asking for everyone to clap their hands along to the beat, the music to “Up All Night” began to play. Liam had only managed to sing through the first line of this solo when Niall looked down to the audience and saw a particular girl in the front row. Her black hair, still slightly purple at the ends, was swaying gently as she danced to the music. She looked so carefree and just how he’d remembered her.  
“Norella” he whispered aloud. Dropping his microphone, he went to the front of the stage and jumped off, landing by Norella’s feet.  
His band members looked around at each other, and Harry, smiling, began to sing the bridge.  
Norella and Niall looked into each other’s eyes. Norella smiled. He was here. Before a word could be spoken between them, Niall bent down and kissed Norella, gently at first and when he felt no resistance, more passionately.  
The audience laughed, and one person even wolf-whistled, as Harry sang the line “People going all the way, all the way” winking and cheekily gesturing towards the reunited couple kissing. Norella and Niall broke apart, Norella blushing and Niall giving Harry a look that said, “I’ll get you back for that later!”  
Niall couldn’t bear to tear himself away from Norella, but he needed to get back up on stage. Plus it would give him the opportunity to sing his feelings. “Hey, I’ll be back soon. Don’t leave my sight!” He knew the next song on the set list was “Truly Madly Deeply” and he knew he had to sing it to her. He just felt the moment was right and it would seal their love forever.  
He jumped back on stage to get into position. Norella nodded, not wanting to ever let him go again. She was starting to remember little things. Like waking up to the smell of fresh coffee and granola on a tray in bed when she stayed over for the first time; and the face he made when he tried to get his hair to cooperate in the morning. She yearned to know more, but she needed him closer for her to remember.  
Norella’s thought processes were interrupted when she heard Niall introduce the next song. “We’re about to get slow and intimate up here” Niall said, raising a few catcalls from members of the audience. He smiled and then continued speaking. “This song is off our new album. If you have someone you love near you, grab them and pull them close. This is for you.”  
Niall stepped back from the front of the stage, allowing Liam to step up for the first solo. As Liam sang, and Elise swooned in the front row, Niall and Norella only had eyes for each other.

Throughout the rest of the set, Norella couldn’t stop smiling. Every time she looked at the stage, she saw Niall smiling down at her. This was finally happening. While part of Norella couldn’t stop jumping with excitement, the other part was just relieved. Relieved, that despite the accident and the amnesia, she hadn’t been going crazy. She’d been so worried that the hit to her head had caused her to become so frazzled that far-fetched ideas seemed positively plausible. It was comforting to know that her and Niall’s relationship was real. And now everyone else knew it too.  
Norella turned to Emilia and smiled. “I’m starting to remember things,” she whispered happily. “Nothing huge, but I remember the day Niall took that photo of us at the beach. I’d just finished my final exam for the semester and he took me out as a surprise to celebrate.”  
Emilia beamed. Tonight couldn’t be going better. The concert had sold out, and there was no doubt in her mind that they hadn’t raised enough for Elise’s assistance dog and extra expenses. Niall and Norella were together again – a fact that Emilia was still processing, given that until a week ago, she had no clue that they were even dating in the first place! And looking around her, all her friends were dancing, having the time of their lives. “Better live while we’re young,” she thought to herself, as she started dancing to the music.

Eventually, much to everyone’s disappointment, the band stopped playing. “Thanks guys for an epic night, but that’s all we’ve got time for” Zayn announced. Over the sounds of the audience cheering, the girls in the front row could hear Harry turning to his mates and adding, “Yeah, and Niall has some unfinished business to take care of, if you know what I mean!” The girls giggled.  
Niall blushed slightly and lightly punched his friend on the arm. “Shut it,” he said, before jumping once again off the stage, to be with Norella.  
Taking Norella’s hand, he pulled her towards him, whispering the words, “C’mon, move a little closer now.”  
Smiling, Norella felt herself press into Niall’s body. Reaching a hand out, Norella could feel his sculpted body underneath his t-shirt. She couldn’t wait to explore it further, but now was not the time. Not with so many people watching. Come to think of it, she wasn’t even sure if there were media representatives in the hall. The concert had received quite a lot of attention, so she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a news crew here. Oh God, did that mean her face was going to end up all over magazines tomorrow? Was everyone going to see photos of her and Niall kissing? Laughing, she was surprised to realize she didn’t really care. As long as her and Niall could be together, she was happy. Everything else was unimportant.  
Niall sat down and gestured for Norella to join him on his lap. Norella sat and put one of her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest. She could feel his heart beat beneath her cheek. This couldn’t be more perfect.

Meanwhile, the rest of the boys finished packing up the stage, complete with Harry’s mutterings about how they REALLY should be given someone to do this for them, and Louis happily replying, “but you’ve got me!”  
Still sitting in the audience, replaying their favourite moments from the concert, sat Emilia, Elise, Georgina, H’lena and Laquisha.  
“Oh my God, did you see Louis’ hair?” gushed Georgina.  
“No,” replied Elise, deadpan. There was an awkward silence before they realized that of course she couldn’t have seen it, and they all started laughing.  
“I just want them all. Preferably in my bed,” admitted H’lena, laughing.  
“Get it, gurrl,” replied Laquisha, high-fiving her.  
Quietly, Elise turned to Emilia and admitted, “I just really like Liam. He seems sweet and he likes puppies. I’ve seen it on Tumblr!”  
Emilia patted her friend’s hand and replied, “I know you do. You should go and talk to him!” But Elise just shook her head, too embarrassed to go and find him, and too worried about not recognizing him correctly and talking to some stranger!

As if on cue, the remaining four members of One Direction hopped off stage, going up to Niall and Norella, giving them high-fives and smiles.  
Zayn turned to Norella. “You know, I’m so glad you guys found each other. You have no idea how many nights we’ve had to listen to him talk about how he wished he could roll back, like, press and rewind.”  
Liam butt in, adding, “Don’t get us wrong, it’s adorable.”  
Louis nodded. “But it’s nice to know we’re not going to have to listen to him complaining any more!”  
Niall smiled, “Thanks for your support guys. I’m going to choose to ignore the part when you said that I wouldn’t stop complaining.”  
Harry raised an eyebrow, “I bet there’ll be something else you can’t stop doing now that you and Norella are reunited.”  
Norella blushed and buried her head into Niall, and Niall wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll get my own way home. You guys leave when you’re ready.”  
Norella looked up. “Before you leave, do you see that group of girls over there?” gesturing towards her friends. “Would you be able to say hi to them on your way out? It would make their night.”  
The boys smiled and turned away from Niall and his girlfriend.

Walking towards the group of girls that Norella had pointed them to, their eyes lit up. They looked relaxed, laughing and talking amongst themselves. No wonder Norella was such good friends with them.  
They hurried over to meet them, and Norella laughed from the distance at their enthusiasm.  
Looking at Niall and holding his hand, she said, “Maybe they’ll find the ones they’ve been looking for, just like I did.”  
Emilia, Elise, Georgina and Laquisha were so busy talking that they didn’t notice the One Direction members approaching. It was only after hearing H’lena’s sharp intake of breath and seeing her body going rigid that they noticed something was up. The four girls stopped what they were doing and stared at the guys.  
Jokingly, Louis looked behind him, pretending to search for whatever had caught the girls’ attention. The other boys groaned, but Georgina couldn’t help laughing. She’d always known he was the joker of the group, and seeing him demonstrate his sense of humour in person was the best part of her night. Louis, taking her enthusiasm as a positive sign, made his way over to her, sticking out his hand and introducing himself.  
Georgina took it shyly and smiled up at him. “Hey, I’m Georgina,” she managed to say with a steady voice, making eye contact with him. She was determined not to come across as one of those crazy fangirls. As long as he didn’t find out about the half-naked poster of him above her bed, she’d be fine…  
Laquisha eyed up Zayn. He smiled and gestured for her to come over to him. Putting his arm around her shoulder he asked her for her name.  
“Laquisha,” she replied, smiling at him. She couldn’t help but notice he had amazing eyes. Some might even call them amazayn. She laughed at her own joke, but when he raised an eyebrow at her, enquiring as to what she found so funny she simply smiled and avoided answering the question.  
Instead she changed the subject, “So you and Perrie aye?”  
Zayn smiled, “Man, the rumour mill is working over time at the moment! Nah, Perrie and I are just mates. As for you and me, I’m hoping we could be something more than this.”  
Laquisha smiled and took his phone out of his pocket, dialing in her number and adding it to his contact list. “We’ll see,” she coyly replied.  
Elise sat quietly, gazing at nothing in particular. She had had such a fantastic evening and the support shown by the community had been incredible. But now she was tired. Plus she had two essays that she should have been writing.  
A voice softly saying “hey” startled her, and she barely managed to conceal her surprise as she turned to see Liam sitting next to her.  
“Oh, hey,” she replied, smiling and the looking down at her lap. Was he actually talking to her?  
“You’re Elise right?” he asked. When she nodded in reply, Liam continued to speak. “I’m so glad we were able to help out tonight at your concert. I just love dogs, Golden Labradors in particular. They’re just so gentle and they make amazing companions. So what sort of dog are you getting?”  
Elise couldn’t help smiling wide. “A Golden Lab.”  
“Would we be able to maybe go out dog walking some time? Or we could skip the walk and meet up for coffee?” he suggested, smiling cutely at her.  
Elise nodded. “Yeah I’d like that. Here’s my number.”  
Emilia, who had been sitting near them, texting her boyfriend, smiled to herself. She knew just how much Elise liked Liam and she was so excited to see her doing something about it. She just knew that this summer was going to be a good one for all her friends. Bonfires on the beach, sing-alongs, watching the sunset across the water. As long as they managed to avoid the paparazzi, there was nothing that could ruin their happiness.  
Speaking of happiness, Emilia looked up to see her friend H’lena making her way towards Harry.  
Harry’s eyes widened as she stuck out her hand and introduced herself, complete with hair flip and a dazzling smile.  
“Hey girl,” he answered, taking her hand and kissing it.  
H’lena smiled. “You just stole my line!” she said, pretending to be offended. “But you’re supposed to say it gurl, not girl,” she added, demonstrating the difference.  
Harry smiled wide and took her hand in his. He had a feeling that this crazy girl was going to keep him on his toes.

Norella and Niall were still cuddled together in the corner, sharing whispered words and sweet kisses. Norella was pleased to see her friends getting on so well with the other members of the band. Now that everyone knew that her and Niall were together, they were bound to be spending a lot of time together, and the fact that the two groups of friends appeared to be bonding easily was going to make things a lot easier.  
Norella tried to conceal a yawn as she realized just how tired she was. It had been a long day, and as happy as she was to see Niall, her memory coming back had exhausted her.  
Niall put his arms around her and stood up, cradling her to his chest. “Come on love, let’s head home.”  
Norella put her arms around his neck and kissed him just behind the ear. She’d remembered earlier as they’d been talking that he used to like it when she did that. The appreciative moan that escaped Niall’s mouth upon her lips kissing him confirmed that she’d remembered correctly.  
As they left the hall, Norella turned back to look at her friends. They were all laughing and joking around. Emilia saw her and waved goodbye. Norella waved back and mouthed “See you tomorrow”. Emilia smiled and winked at her. “Have fun,” she mouthed back.  
Norella was certain that at any moment Ms. Maguire was going to come into the hall and insist the leave so the school could be alarmed, but for the moment the coast was clear and the group were free to have fun.  
She hoped that this was the start of what was going to be the best summer yet.


	6. I Remember

A month after the benefit concert and things were looking up for everybody. The University semester was finally over – with Emilia, Elise and Norella all passing their exams, allowing them to put University behind them for the summer. Well, all except Elise who had taken on a position as research assistant for one of the lecturers in the music department.  
One night as Elise sat holed up in her room, reading some essay or another, Norella and Emilia sat in the lounge, sipping on their evening drink. They were enjoying being able to relax for the first time in what seemed like forever, with no assignments keeping them busy or stressful deadlines ruining their fun.  
“You know, I feel like this summer we need to do something different,” Norella said. “I’m sick of just sitting around and doing nothing over our break. Why don’t I talk to Niall and get him to mention it to the boys, and see if we can organize something? What about going away for a bit?”  
Emilia hummed in agreement. She was in serious need of a holiday. The University semester had been a killer! Norella and Elise, of course being the brain boxes they were, passed their exams with near perfect scores, while Emilia had gotten in the mid ranges.  
Norella heard her phone buzz. It was Niall texting her after their final show of the tour: “Got away with no paps on our tail, headed to yours. Save me a beer and a kiss xx” Norella sighed contentedly and text him back.  
Emilia waited patiently, just as the other girls had when she had first started going out with her boyfriend. The first stage - the honeymoon period - was the sweetest. Never wanting to be apart; when apart, still in contact via texting or Facebook. Emilia and her boyfriend hadn’t really left this stage yet, so she understood where Norella was coming from. It was hard to juggle friends and a relationship, but she knew that with time, Norella and Niall would work it out, just as Emilia had done.  
Emilia took another swig of her drink and hummed some songs until Norella was done. Norella looked up and saw Emilia balancing an empty bottle on her head and started to question her sanity.  
“How long was I texting for this time?” she asked, worried that she had kept her friend waiting and completely bored.  
“Oh only ten minutes or so” Emilia said “I was just trying to balance this bottle on my head to see if I was a princess...”  
Norella looked at her friend, trying to suppress a laugh. “It’s a Friday night and of all things, you choose to see if you’re a...princess?” she asked incredulously.  
Emilia smiled at her sweetly. “Isn’t that normal? Doesn’t everyone want to be a princess?” she replied jokingly, before putting the empty bottle back on the coffee table. “So anyway, about our Summer plans. When are you seeing Niall next? Would you be able to bring it up with him? I know he’s coming over here tonight, but he’ll be tired after the show.”  
Norella nodded. “I’m seeing him again tomorrow. He’s asked me to stay the night.”  
Emilia couldn’t help raising an eyebrow and murmuring, “Did he now?” before gesturing for her friend to continue speaking.  
“Anyway, as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted,” Norella said sarcastically, “yes, I’ll bring up the idea with him.”  
Emilia just wiggled her eyebrows at Norella, “Asked you to stay the night huh? Gonna do the dance of the two lovers huh?” Emilia elbowed Norella in the side  
“What’s the dance of the two lovers Em?” Norella questioned.  
Emilia just raised an eyebrow. “Dude... come on... I meant sex, you silly goose!”  
Norella looked at Emilia, and gave her a light push. “Did you seriously just ask me that? Boundaries woman!”  
Before Emilia could question Norella any further, they heard someone knocking on the door. Norella’s face lit up with a huge smile and she ran to answer it.  
“Honey, I’m home!” Niall called out, bowing to Norella. Emilia stifled a giggle, while Norella wrapped her arms around Niall’s neck and he leant in to kiss her. “Ewwww guyyyyssss not near me, gross!” Emilia screwed up her face in mock protest.  
Niall just looked at Emilia and then back to Norella and whispered “Shall we?” Norella smirked and nodded, and they got closer to Emilia, their lips pouted.  
“Guys, I was joking...” They still got closer. “Guys seriously, if you mess up my hair I’ll kill you” and that was it. Norella and Niall were placing big, loud and wet kisses on her cheeks and forehead making sure to ruffle her hair as they did it.  
Elise, coming through to the kitchen to get a glass of water, heard the racket and wandered over the source of the noise to discover what was going on. Close enough to finally see, she let out a squeal and started laughing uncontrollably. “I was hoping someone was going to be up to listening to my theories in regards to post-tonal harmonies being used as a modernist expression of emotion and power, but I guess you’re all preoccupied,” she mused. As much as Elise loved studying, nobody else in the house seemed to share her enthusiasm for work.  
Emilia smiled, pulling away from Niall and Norella, and attempting to fix her hair. “Elise, you know I’ll listen to you talk about your work any day, but seriously, I didn’t understand half of the words in that sentence!”  
“It’s ok. Liam was excited by my research the other day when I mentioned it to him, so maybe I’ll see if he’s up for coffee over the weekend.” Elise grabbed her drink and headed back to her room, calling over her shoulder, “Oh and guys, keep it down! I’m trying to study here!”  
Emilia laughed. No matter how many times Elise tried to justify her and Liam’s relationship as one based purely on academic merit, she knew there was something more going on. And she was determined that over summer they’d finally be able to admit this to themselves, and to the rest of the group.  
Norella and Niall made their way over to the couch. Lying down, Niall pulled Norella against her, positioning her head on his chest, so that he could stroke her hair as they talked.  
Knowing how late it was and how tired Niall would be after the show, Emilia guessed he wouldn’t be staying long so she decided to give the couple some alone time.

Niall told Norella all about the show and how many screaming girls there were chanting his name.  
Norella laughed and said, “With so many screaming girls, why is it you come home to me every night?”  
“It’s not every night I come home to you” Niall shot back, wiggling his eyebrows.  
“True” she mused  
“And anyway, I have no idea if those girls are ticklish. You, on the other hand...” Norella froze.  
“Niall... Don’t do it...”  
“Why not?” He pouted  
“Because I will laugh too loud and disturb Elise?”  
“Wrong answer” Niall grinned, raising his hands to Norella’s sides  
“Because I am cute?”  
“Oooo, close but no still wrong,” inching ever closer.  
“Hmmm, is it three words?” Norella questioned  
“Getting warmer.” Niall lowered his hands  
“I,” Norella pressed her finger to her lips in thought.  
“Go on.”  
“Love.”  
“Getting hotter...”  
“... shoes” Norella beamed at Niall who was lost for words.  
“I just can’t even...” Niall finally said as he started to tickle her sides. Norella began to laugh, as did Niall. Niall finally stopped when Norella kissed him on the lips. Hard. Their tickling session stopped, developing into a much more heated make-out session. Norella ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her neck furiously, their mouths, bodies and souls becoming one as their movements flowed into one another.  
“Niall, aren’t you tired?” Norella said breathlessly when they finally broke apart.  
“Not in the slightest. Being with you always fills me with energy” he said smiling.  
Norella had to hold herself back from pinching his cheeks, his dimples almost causing her to swoon every time she saw them. And his eyes. Oh, those eyes. As she stared into his gorgeous orbs of brilliant Azure blue, she had a sudden flash of a memory.

Them at the beach.  
Him surfing.  
Kissing.  
Being carried to the sea.  
Snuggling in the sand.  
Long hot sun  
Ice-cream.  
Paparazzi.  
Niall screaming her name.  
Bright lights.  
Then nothing.

Norella suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. She started to cry. Totally confused, Niall hugged Norella closer whispering sweet nothings in her ear, telling her everything was okay and he was here now, but she just kept weeping, her sobs growing louder.  
Emilia and Elise came out to see what was going on only to find their best friend sobbing and struggling for breath, while Niall hugged her and tried to calm her down. Emilia and Elise had seen her like this before. Immediately they ran to her, kneeling beside her, and grabbing her hands.  
“Niall, what happened?” Elise’s brow was furrowed with worry.  
“I don’t know. She just sort of froze. She was smiling, then her face dropped and she started sobbing in my arms and nothing will calm her!” Niall said frantically.  
“Dude you need to be calm! She can’t have you freaking out too!” Emilia scolded.  
“Sorry, it just happened so quickly!” Niall said, obviously frustrated. He didn’t know what was wrong with his lover and the feeling of helplessness that was washing over him weighed upon him heavily.  
“Norella, sweetie, you need to look at me”. Norella’s head moved to look at Emilia.  
“Good baby girl. Now I need you to breathe for me, in and out. Niall will rub your back and every time he goes up, I want a deep breath in and when he goes down, a deep breath out, ok?”  
Norella nodded.   
“Good, now close your eyes and just listen to my voice and feel Niall’s hand on your back, ok?”  
Norella’s eyes fluttered shut. “Ok deep breath in, and out. Good” Norella’s breaths were shaky but much better than before. “That’s the way. Now, where are you?”  
“On the road” Norella croaked.  
“No sweetie, you’re not. You are at home. I’m here, and so are Elise and Niall. We’re all here, and you’re safe.”  
“But the lights...?”  
“Aren’t there.”  
“And the cars...?”  
“All not here darling.”  
“Oh” she squeaked out, her breathing going back to normal  
“Now just relax, Niall is going to carry you to bed ok?”  
Norella nodded still keeping her eyes shut.  
“He won’t leave right?” Norella voice sounded so small.  
“No, I’m not going anywhere” he said kissing her forehead. He mouthed thank you to Emilia and Elise, and lifted Norella into his arms. She curled up as close as she could to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She seemed so vulnerable, eyes closed, breathing becoming steadier. Niall couldn’t bear to see her in so much pain.  
Carrying her through to her room, Niall lay her on her bed and handed her her pajamas. He turned around to give her some privacy and only turned back to her once he was sure she was dressed and snuggled under the duvet.  
“Will you lie beside me?” she asked him, quietly. “I really don’t want to be alone tonight.”  
Seeing her exhausted and sad expression, Niall had no way of saying no. He removed his shoes, hoodie and jeans, and climbed into bed next to her, pulling her close.  
Resting her head on his shoulder, Norella placed a soft kiss on his collarbone and whispered, “I love you, Niall”, before falling asleep, the pain from this evening drifting away as she peacefully slept.


	7. Summer Planning

Niall, however, couldn’t sleep. He had tossed and turned for hours, read all the news he could find, and had even read an entire book, and yet he still felt wide awake. Sighing he finally realized what was wrong.  
He was scared.   
He needed to know what was going on. His one and only Norella had a pretty massive break down tonight and he wasn’t able to help her in any way. It was so frustrating to see the one he loved struggling so much, knowing there was nothing he could do to take the pain away.  
Sighing, he made the decision to go talk and talk to her friends to see if they could enlighten him. Maybe they knew something he didn’t that could help.  
Slowly lifting himself up from the bed, he padded out to the living only to see Elise’s light still on in her room. Elise and him hadn’t had too much to do with one another, but he was certain she would know what had happened this evening.  
Quietly, he knocked on her door. He heard shuffling of feet moving towards him and he stood back.  
“Oh hey Niall, everything okay?” Elise queried as she looked around to see if Norella was with him.  
“Um not really. I can’t really sleep, what happened tonight is driving me crazy...” Niall said sheepishly.  
“Oh! Of course. Come in. Emilia and I were just discussing that.”  
She gestured to Emilia, who was sitting on Elise’s bed in what looked like a One Direction onesie. Emilia waved and beckoned Niall into the room.  
He entered and sat next to Emilia on the bed. Emilia turned and smiled at him. Despite the smile, Niall could see the sadness in her eyes.  
“Before you say anything, I just wanted to say Niall, the way you handled what happened tonight was amazing. Most guys would have run for hills!” Elise said, smiling appreciatively at Niall.  
“Leaving her is not an option. It’s never been an option. I just found her again...” Niall admitted, looking at the floor.  
“I really hope you don’t think any of this was your fault,” Emilia questioned.  
Niall paused. The problem was, he DID think this was his fault. All of it was. “Everything is,” he whispered. “The accident, her being alone and afraid, what happened tonight... it’s all on me.”  
“Wrong, wrong and wrong,” Emilia said, shaking her head. “But we don’t have time to get into all that tonight. The matter at hand is what happened this evening. Norella had a panic attack. A pretty bad one, from the looks of it.”  
“Yeah, it definitely seemed to be,” Elise agreed.   
“But why?” Niall questioned. In his months of knowing her, Norella had only ever been panicky once and that was when she’d cooked him rice and she was worried she’d kill him with the heat from the chilies she’d used.   
Pulling down the hood of her onesie, Emilia said, “You know about her parents right?” interrupting Niall’s train of thought.  
Niall nodded. He could clearly remember the day she told him about them.  
“Well after that she started having pretty bad panic attacks, feeling like she was still in the car, not being able to breathe, and so forth. Since she was staying at my house at the time, I helped her get through them, as did Elise. She hasn’t had one for years as far as we can remember, but something must have happened tonight to cause her to get so upset. It is possible that she remembered something from the accident. It could have been a flashback to the night her parents died, or the more recent accident with you. Either way, suddenly remembering something caused her to shut down, resulting in the panic attack,” Emilia concluded. Elise nodded in agreement.  
“How did you know so much about panic attacks, Emilia?” Niall queried, genuinely curious.  
“I’m studying Educational Psychology,” Emilia explained. “We learnt about trauma and in particular how people cope with it. It comes in handy sometimes, despite people saying that a BA is a useless degree!” she chuckled.  
“You know, Emilia, you’d be so good at Uni if you just applied yourself!” Elise laughed. “I don’t know about you, but University is like a party every day!”  
Silence followed, until Elise started laughing once more. “Ok, maybe it’s just me...”  
Emilia just shook her. “I’d much rather live while we’re young right?”   
Going back to their original topic of conversation, however, Niall continued voicing his concerns. “How come she couldn’t hear me?” He was petrified that if this was to happen again, he wouldn’t be able to help her.  
Emilia turned to Niall and answered honestly, “What are you on about boy? She did hear you! You calmed her down much quicker than we knew was possible. She knew you were there, and she knew that you were keeping her safe.”  
Niall smiled shyly at the two girls. “Are you serious? I actually helped?” When they nodded in reply, he visibly relaxed. “Oh thank God. I’ve spent the night worrying about what I’d do if this ever happened again. So you’re telling me I did the right thing?” The girls nodded, pleased to have helped calm Niall down.  
“You did great,” Elise reiterated. “Seriously.”

Content that he had done the best he could, and that he had in fact helped Norella, Niall crept back to his girlfriend’s room and lay down beside her on her bed. Closing his eyes, sleep soon came as he felt Norella move closer to him, nuzzling him and draping one of her arms over his chest. Niall couldn’t help smiling to himself. Despite the difficulties of the previous night and the drama that their relationship had endured so far, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, or with anyone else. This was where they belonged.

Niall felt the sunlight before he saw it. Opening his eyes, he could see the sun streaming in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating Norella as she slept soundlessly, lighting her up like an angel. Niall smiled - it couldn’t get better than this. Niall thought for a minute, actually it could get better than this. Food always made things better.  
Rolling over on his side, he saw a plate of pastries and coffee on the bedside table. Elise and Emilia must have been up early today.  
Not wanting to disturb Norella from her sleep, he stayed in bed, watching his girlfriend breathe deeply and peacefully. It was comforting to see her so relaxed.  
Before long, Norella stirred, feeling like someone’s eyes were on her. Yawning and opening her eyes, she saw Niall, stretched out on the bed next to her, smiling as he watched her waking up.  
“Morning, beautiful,” he said, greeting her with a gentle brush of his lips on hers.  
“Morning,” she mumbled. As nice as it was to wake up next to such an attractive male, she needed coffee. Badly.  
As if reading her mind, Niall sat up and reached for the bed stand, handing Norella a steaming cup of coffee.  
Norella smiled. Now this she could certainly get used to. Taking a sip and sighing with delight, she started to apologize for the way last night ended. “Look I really feel like I need to explain last night,” she began.  
Niall put a finger up to her lips, quieting her. “It’s ok. I talked to Emilia and Elise. They explained that this happened for a while after the accident. They also said that I seemed to help calm you down,” Niall added, with a proud look on his face.  
Norella smiled, “You did help. Usually I wouldn’t be able to sleep for days. But last night I slept better than I had in months. What I wanted to tell you though, is that I remember. The day of the accident, when we were at the beach. I remember it. That’s why I started to panic.”  
Niall slid closer, taking Norella in his arms. Stroking her hair, he kissed her forehead, caressing his lips against her skin until they reached her mouth.  
Moments flew by as the two kissed, their legs tangled together under the sheets and their mouths joined. Breaking apart, Norella thought it was the perfect time to mention the summer plans Emilia and Elise had been organizing with her the night before.  
“So, the girls and I were thinking that this summer we could go and do something. You know, get away from the city and have some time just to chill. Emilia and Elise were thinking that we could head up the coast, with the rest of the band, and some of our friends. Bonfires; sunsets; it could be really nice.”  
Niall smiled broadly and wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, he nodded in agreement. “That would be amazing! I’ll give the boys a call when we get up, and see if they’re keen.”

Later that morning, after Norella and Niall had untangled themselves from each other, and made their way out to the living room, they met Elise and Emilia in the living room. Elise, hard work at the table, heard them enter and greeted them, before going back to her essay. Niall chuckled at her dedication. Who knew someone could be so excited about work? Emilia was busy in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Now THAT was something Niall could understand. His stomach rumbled at the smell coming from the oven and Norella laughed.  
“So the lads are coming over this afternoon to discuss what we should do for our summer road trip,” Niall announced. “Do you want to see if H’lena, Laquisha and Georgina would be able to make it over too? That way we could talk about it together.” Niall’s enthusiasm for the plan was obvious, and Norella gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
“I’m on it!” called out Emilia from the kitchen, grabbing her phone and texting the girls.

The afternoon planning session went well. It was decided that they’d leave on Saturday, giving them five days to organize themselves. The plan was to head up to the beach and spend a week, hanging out, away from stress and the paparazzi and any other commitments they may have had. Liam, ever the responsible one, called Simon and got it cleared with him. Their manager even suggested a perfect house they could stay in that was owned by one of his friends, where they’d be safe from the prying eyes of the public and the media.  
The rest of the day passed quickly, with everyone suggesting what they’d need to take with them and how they’d get up there. There were too many of them to travel in one car, and as Zayn pointed out, it would be useful to have multiple cars with them.  
“And gives us plenty of room for all our stuff!” Georgina added, receiving nods from all the girls and a laugh from Louis.  
“Girls and their things...” he joked.  
Niall and Norella quickly agreed that they would go in the same car. Harry had yet to get his license so he, Zayn, H’lena and Laquisha decided to head up in one car. Emilia, whose boyfriend would be working during the day on Saturday, said she’d meet them up there that night, driving up with him. Georgina, who had her full, was happy to drive Louis, Liam and Elise, but then Elise brought up the fact that she was receiving her dog in two days time, so would need some extra space in the car.  
Emilia caught Liam smiling before he tried to cover it up. He said offhandedly, “Well, you know, I could take you and the dog up in my car. I don’t mind.”  
Elise looked over gratefully at Liam. “You wouldn’t mind? I don’t want you to have to take your car if you weren’t going to originally. Seriously. I’m sure I could, like catch a bus up, or have Norella take some of the dog’s equipment in her car...” Elise trailed off as Liam reached out and put his hand on her arm.  
“Really. I’d be happy to.” The two smiled at each other, but the moment was broken by Harry calling out that perhaps the two of them shouldn’t be left alone together after all. Elise blushed bright red and turned back to her study, while the others changed the subject.

Later that night, after all the plans had been finalized, the accommodation sorted and food requirements divided up between the group, Norella, Emilia and Elise lay in the lounge, chatting to one another about the upcoming trip.  
“It’s going to be amazing, and I’m so glad your boyfriend can make it,” Norella said to Emilia.  
Emilia nodded. It had been a long time since her boyfriend and her had had some time away, and even though they’d be in a group, she knew they’d find an opportunity to catch up properly and spend time in each other’s company.  
Looking towards Elise, Emilia smiled cheekily. “Liam seemed pretty keen to take you up in his car,” she observed. “What’s going on between the two of you?”  
Norella leaned forward, interested to hear Elise’s response. She’d noticed there was definitely something between her friend and Liam.  
Elise shrugged. “We’re friends....I think. I don’t really know. I love being in his company. The days we’ve spent together have been the best,” she admitted.  
“I KNEW IT!” Emilia shouted. “I knew there was something going on. He totally likes you.”  
Gathering her things up, Elise smiled shyly. “Maybe. I don’t know. But anyway, I better get to bed. I’ve got heaps to get done on this research project in order for me to be able to leave it behind when we go away.”  
As she walked out the room, Norella called out after her, “I’m sure Liam would be able to help you study. Although I’m sure he’d be better at helping you out in a practical biology lesson!”  
Norella and Emilia cracked up, as Elise gave them the middle finger, before closing her bedroom door.  
Emilia and Norella didn’t stay up too much later. It was Monday night and they only had a few days to catch up with friends and pack, not to mention go shopping for the perfect beach outfits. There was a lot to do, but it was going to be worth it.  
Norella quietly sighed contentedly. She couldn’t believe that just over a month ago she was lying in a hospital bed, unaware of anything that had occurred in the moments leading up to the accident. That girl, confused and scared, running away in the dead of the night from Niall’s house, seemed a million miles away from the girl lying on the couch with one of her best friends, getting ready to go away on a beach holiday with her amazing boyfriend and friends. Things had changed so much in such a short period of time, but Norella regretted none of it. Because everything that had occurred, good and bad, had lead to this moment. And nothing could ruin it.


	8. Road Trip

“Come on guys. You better leave soon if you want to get there by lunch!” called Emilia, checking her phone for the time.  
Niall jumped up off the couch. “Speaking of lunch, I’m starving!”  
In the corner, Georgina turned to Louis and silently mouthed the word “carrot”, making Louis laugh and pull Georgina into a hug.  
Zayn raised an eyebrow at Niall. “Mate, you only ate breakfast like an hour ago.”  
The disappointed look on Niall’s face made Norella giggle. She stood up, and wrapped one arm around him. “It’s ok,” she reassured Niall. “I’ve packed snacks.”  
Niall’s face lit up. Leaning down to give Norella a kiss, he whispered in her ear, “You’re the best. It’s like we were made for each other. All my life I’ve been waiting for a girl like you!”  
“Save it for the road!” Harry interjected, laughing.

Slowly, everyone got themselves together and piled into their respective cars. Most of the packing had been done the night before, with all the boys staying the night in the lounge at Norella, Emilia and Elise’s house to save travel time on the Saturday.  
Zayn jumped into the driver’s seat of his car, and was followed in by Laquisha, H’lena and Harry. Waving at the others and calling out the window, “See ya guys there!”, they drove off.  
Louis and Georgina were the next to leave. Smiling wide, the two of them looked like they were going to have an entertaining trip up to the beach. Looking at them giggling as they made their way over to Georgina’s car, Emilia gave a knowing look to Norella and Elise. Ever since they had met at the benefit concert, it seemed all those two ever did was laugh and make physical contact as subtly as possible - reaching for the other’s hand, a joking punch on the arm, Louis casually pushing Georgina’s hair behind her ear.  
Elise looked around her, checking that she had packed everything she’d need, for her and her new service dog, Eva. Everything looked in order, so she hugged Norella and Emilia goodbye.  
“Ready, babe?” Liam asked, grabbing his car keys and heading outside. Elise nodded, and asked both her friends to drive safely.  
Grabbing the harness on her dog, Elise made her way out to the car, not walking into any tables or walls. Norella smiled. Eva really was making a difference – and not only for Elise. It was blatantly obvious that Liam liked the puppy, as well the owner!  
Once they had driven away, it left only Norella and Niall to leave.  
“Are you sure you’re ok, being here by yourself until your boyfriend finishes at work?” inquired Norella.  
Emilia laughed. “What, have I never been left on my own before?!” she jokingly replied.  
“I know, I know. It’s just, I feel bad that we’re all going on holiday without you.”  
Emilia pushed Norella towards the door. “I’m fine. I’ll be there tonight! I’ll see you guys for dinner. Now go!”  
Niall grabbed his bag, said bye to Emilia and took Norella’s hand. Niall held the door open for Norella to step into the car, before he went round to the driver’s side.  
Watching them driving down the road, Emilia sighed contently. For the first time in over a month, she had some peace and quiet!  
She decided to make the most of the day, grabbing some snacks and lying down on the couch for a Pretty Little Liars marathon. This, she thought, was the perfect way to start her holiday!

* * * * *

Meanwhile, the others made their way up the coast, excitement building in each of them as they thought about the next seven days.  
“Come on, Georgina! I’m sure we can pass them!” urged Louis.  
Georgina shrugged and hit the pedal, pushing her car forwards. Louis laughed and waved out the window to Zayn as they sped past them, into the lead.  
For the last hour, Louis and Georgina had been playing 20 questions to get to know each other better. Despite having met over a month earlier, this was the first time they’d properly been able to hang out, without the others watching their every move and listening to everything they said.  
They had covered all the basics in the first half hour on the road, and since then their questions had progressively gotten more ridiculous.  
That was until Louis stopped laughing and seriously said, “Ok, my turn. Do you have a boyfriend?”  
Georgina was taken aback. Given the humorous mood that had surrounded them on the whole journey so far, she wasn’t expecting such a question from the guy next to her.  
Pausing slightly, she then answered, “No. You?”  
Louis laughed. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend! Or a girlfriend, for that matter!” After momentarily pausing, gazing out the window, he then continued. “Next question. Would you like to be my girlfriend?”  
Georgina smiled. She was pleased to know that she hadn’t been misreading the signs over the past month - the occasional hand grazing or whispered comments meant only for her during group discussions. “Yes,” she replied with certainty.  
Louis visibly relaxed after hearing her answer, and leaned back into his seat. This holiday was going to be fun. He was sure of it.

“I can’t believe they overtook us!!!” cried Laquisha.  
“Get it!!!” H’lena called out, gesturing for Zayn to speed after Louis and Georgina. But it was too late. Georgina’s car was already out of sight, and another car had pulled in front of them.  
“I guess I’m just not that worried about coming first,” Zayn said, shrugging.  
The car burst out into fits of laughter, with Harry muttering some suggestive comment or another from the back seat to H’lena, causing her to laugh even more.  
“You know it,” she replied, wiggling her eyebrows at Harry.  
Harry laughed at H’lena’s comments. Harry knew that this girl would keep him in stitches daily. He saw the sparkle in her eye and decided that he wanted to get to know her better.

In the other car, Norella and Niall were chatting about everything and anything. Niall loved seeing Norella with her hair out, sunglasses and sundress on, laughing and smiling. It made him love her more. He had a plan to make this week romantic! She deserved to know that her boyfriend could and would make her feel special, especially after their earlier conversation that they’d had as they lay in bed together. As the sun had risen over the two of them, Niall had been amazed at how vulnerable Norella had seemed. Her memory was slowly coming back, but there were still details she couldn’t remember or events that she didn’t recall, and each time she had to ask Niall to clarify something or fill in the gaps, it reminded him how fragile she was and how close he had been to losing her. He never wanted to come that close to living his life without Norella again, and he wanted this week to give him the chance to show her just how much he loved her.  
Niall was caught off guard and brought back to the present, when Norella asked him how they had spent their one month anniversary.  
“You don’t remember that at all?” he asked, somewhat disappointed. He’d spent so long deciding what to do for it, asking his mates what they’d recommend doing. Harry’s suggestions were far too inappropriate to be repeated, but Niall told Norella what the other ideas were.  
“But what did you choose?” she asked curiously. It filled Niall with a feeling of love, to see Norella so keen to relive their anniversary date, even though for her it was like she was experiencing it for the first time.  
“I took you to your favourite restaurant. I hired it out for the evening so we could be alone. Afterwards, we went to the pier. It was a warm evening, with just a slight breeze. We sat on the wharf, our feet dangling over the edge and talked for what seemed like hours. It was that night that I told you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”  
Norella smiled at Niall as he drove them towards their holiday. That evening sounded perfect. Her eyes glazed over as she delved into her memories, trying hard to latch onto something from that night. “I was cold. You put your jacket over my shoulders.” She looked to Niall for confirmation that she wasn’t creating false memories. She knew that could happen with amnesia patients.  
Niall’s face lit up and he briefly turned away from the road to smile lovingly at Norella. “Yes! You remember! You were shivering and tried to tell me you weren’t cold. But I could tell you obviously were.”  
“I didn’t want to ruin your date. You had worked so hard at planning it. I was scared that if I said I was cold you would want to leave early. So I thought I’d be tough and not feel the cold, but that didn’t quite work out the way I planned...”  
Niall smiled. “I thought it was sweet. It was obvious you were cold but you were so adamant you were fine. I knew you were just trying to please me, but I was so worried that I’d get you sick on our anniversary. The boys would have had a field day with that!”  
“That night was the first time I had hung out with them all at once, right? Because of your hair as you got ready?” Norella said as she scrunched up her face.  
Niall blushed and nodded. “It just wouldn’t sit right ok? I wanted to look good!” Niall pleaded.  
“So you made me wait with the boys for half an hour!” Norella retorted.  
“Well... yeah, but you had them saying yes ma’am and asking if you were comfortable or wanted anything by the end of it!”  
“Yeah, I had them whipped!” Norella made a whipping gesture with her hand and laughed, before adding, “besides, you know I am pretty much bffs with the boys now anyway!” Niall smiled, “That’s true. The boys do love you”  
The couple laughed and Norella reached over to gently hold Niall’s hand. She held on only for a minute, knowing he needed both hands to drive safely, but she craved physical contact with the guy sitting next to her.  
Niall smiled knowingly. “As soon as we stop the car, I’m going to hug you and you’ll never have to let go,” he told her.  
Norella bit her lip, a small smile lighting up her face, as she leant back into her seat. Turning on the radio, she started to hum “Give Me Love” which had started to play. She thought of making a bad joke, about how she’d always be willing to give Niall love but decided against it, thinking it may ruin the moment they had just had.  
Instead, she settled for closing her eyes and imagining what the house would be like that they were driving towards. Simon was convinced that it would be perfect for their holiday. They hadn’t even discussed sleeping arrangements yet. But not even that stressor could ruin this moment for Norella. She was exactly where she was supposed to be, with the one she loved, driving towards the beach. Full of promise, full of love, and full of happiness, she smiled and continued to hum along to the radio.

"The thing is, it's impossible to completely separate composer and composition. They're intrinsically linked, and each reflects the other. Take Schubert for instance. Or your music for that matter!" Elise said enthusiastically, waving her hands about as she told Liam about her research work.  
Liam nodded. He had been up late the last month trying to understand more about the topic. He had already learnt so much from Elise, but he couldn’t have her thinking he didn’t know anything at all about music! He did. He had studied music technology at college. It wasn’t Elise’s musical knowledge that drew him to her it was something else. He just hadn’t quite figured it out yet.  
"I'm not advocating for total separation between artist and their art - but narratologists have shown there's so much in between. The implied author, the "real" author, the intended listener. But I'm really sick of people ignoring the role that a composer's life plays in the creation of their works" Elise finished.  
“I totally agree. In our songs, people don’t think that real heartbreak and emotions go into them. They see us as a bunch of guys that got a lucky break, with no truth in our songs. I actually help write heaps of the songs because these messages mean something to me.”  
Liam looked over at Elise and noticed how relaxed she appeared. “Hey, that’s a really gorgeous dress you have on today!”  
Elise blushed. She really did like Liam - she was just sure he didn’t like her back.  
“Liam, can we stop? I think Eva is getting a little restless in the back.”  
“Sure thing, babe. I think you’re right. The cutie is looking a little hyper!”  
Liam pulled over and Elise let Eva out onto grass, taking her harness off so she knew that she could play. Eva ran around looking super excited that she was out of the car.  
“Look at that, she loves grass!” Liam chuckled. “You know, Elise I can’t figure you out - you are just a puzzle to me.”  
Elise blushed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot around Liam lately. “If I’m a puzzle, you can play with my pieces any day,” Elise muttered a bit too loudly to herself.  
Liam turned and raised his eyebrows amused, “I can do what?!”  
Elise’s eyes flew open. She had NOT just said that! Turning quickly, she opened the car door and crawled inside, shutting the door behind her.  
Liam put Eva’s harness back on, the dog happy to obey his instructions, and got her back into the car, before he entered the driver’s seat. Elise’s face was still bright red, as she looked out the window, doing everything possible to avoid meeting Liam’s eyes.  
“Elise, about what you said,” began Liam.  
“Just, no. It didn’t happen. Nothing happened. Can we just leave it at that?” Elise begged.  
“Ok, nothing happened,” Liam agreed. But something had happened, and for the rest of the car ride, all Liam could think about was the true meaning behind Elise’s words. Maybe the puzzle that was Elise wasn’t going to be as hard as he thought to solve.

* * * * *

After what seemed like hours on the road, they finally arrived at the home Liam had organised for them. Georgina got out of the car and gazed up at the mansion in front of her. It was stunning.  
“Wowza,” Norella exclaimed, as Niall helped her out of the car and she joined Georgina in front of the house.  
“It’s...big?” Elise added, trying her best to join in the conversation, despite not being able to see the house in question.  
Her friends laughed and Liam moved her head slightly to the right, so she was at least looking towards to house. “Yeah, it’s big,” he agreed.  
Behind them, the rest of the boys, aided by Laquisha and H’lena, were emptying the cars of all their luggage. And there was a lot of it.  
“Girls, we’re only away for a week! Did you seriously need this much stuff?” Zayn exasperatedly said, gesturing towards all the bags.  
Louis gingerly stepped forward. “Umm, you can’t blame it ALL of them...I didn’t know what clothes I’d need!!” he admitted.  
Punching his mate lightly on the arm as he walked passed him, Harry made his way towards the house. “Not sure about you guys, but I want to see what it’s like on the inside!”  
“I hope the kitchen’s big!” Niall cried, following Harry inside.  
The rest of the group gathered their stuff, and made for the front door.  
Eva’s harness in one hand, Elise reached down to pick up her duffle bag. Liam’s hand covered hers and pried the bag from her fingers. “You’ve got Eva. I’ll take the bags in.”  
Elise smiled gratefully and headed inside with Norella by her side, talking excitedly between them about how they couldn’t wait for Emilia to arrive.

Once inside, they gathered in the enormous living room. Beanbags, couches, and a whole assortment of chairs were scattered around the large space. An entire wall was made of glass, looking out at the private beach that could only be accessed from the house.  
Sinking into one of the couches, Norella let out a sigh of appreciation. “This is incredible. I can’t believe we get to stay here a whole week!”  
Niall joined her on the couch, slinging one of his arms around her shoulder. “Best. Summer. Ever,” he whispered to her, kissing her gently.  
“Guys, get a room!” H’lena called out to the couple.  
“Speaking of rooms, should we sort out where everyone will be sleeping?” asked Harry.  
Running up the stairs, Norella and Niall claimed the master bedroom, which was the only one to have its own balcony.  
“No fair!” cried Zayn, when he saw the room.  
“Sorry, mate. First in, first served, all that jazz!” Niall shrugged, smiling apologetically to his friend, before spreading himself out on the king-sized bed.  
Norella laughed. “You are such a child, Niall!” but she let him pull her down to join him, curling up his arms and giggling as he began to tickle her.  
In the meantime, Laquisha, H’lena, and Harry had claimed the room with bunk beds for them, and Zayn.  
“That way we can all be together! Like a sleepover!” announced Laquisha.  
The look in Harry’s eye as he glanced towards H’lena suggested that a sleepover was the last thing he had on his mind, but he put his bags down on one of the beds regardless.  
Norella called out that the room next to hers should be left for Emilia. She knew that Emilia would love the colour scheme of the room, as well as the amazing view it had of the ocean.  
Louis and Georgina had already made their way into the room on the ground floor that featured another king-sized bed.  
“How romantic!” said Louis, wiggling his eyebrows, before dropping his stuff to the ground and pulling Georgina into a kiss, pleased that their conversation in the car had lead to them becoming officially a couple.  
Elise stood in the other ground floor room, having already arranged Eva’s dog bed at the foot of her own bed. The room was spacious, and had two single beds, instead of one larger bed, like the other rooms. She’d migrated towards this room, deciding that the fewer stairs she had to deal with, the less likely she would be to injure herself.  
Liam stood in the doorway. He surveyed the room. He was secretly pleased to be in the same room as Elise but things had been a little awkward since Elise’s outburst on their car ride up.  
“You ok sharing with me? I could take the lounge, if you’d prefer?” he asked shyly.  
Elise didn’t need to see him to know it was Liam talking to her. “There’s heaps of room. Come on in,” she replied, trying not to blush as she remembered what she’d inadvertently said aloud by the side of the road.  
Sharing a room with Liam. This was going to be interesting...


	9. Bonfire

After Niall had prepared a massive lunch for everyone in the house, they headed down to the beach to soak up some of the sun. Changing into their togs and grabbing beach towels and a cooler full of drinks, they made their way over the sand dunes and onto the empty stretch of beach. The sea sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight and the sand was pleasantly warm underneath their bare feet.  
Norella and Niall spread a picnic blanket out on the sand and lay down next to each other, Norella resting her head in the crook of Niall’s neck. They could hear their friends arrive on the beach, but Norella kept her eyes closed, enjoying being in the arms of the guy she loves, not a care in the world.  
Elise and Liam were the last to arrive. Eva had never been on sand before, and the poor dog was trying to walk steadily, despite her paws sinking into the dirt with every step she took. Elise stumbled and Liam unconsciously reached for her arm to stop her from falling. Once she was upright, Liam kept his hand on her arm, not realizing that he was still holding her. Embarrassedly, he dropped her arm, looking at the ground self-consciously.  
“Thanks,” Elise said quietly, gazing up at Liam. She still couldn’t believe what she’d said to him before, and she hadn’t stopped berating herself since those words had left her mouth.  
The two of them, aided by Eva, finally arrived on the beach and Elise sat down, enjoying the feeling of warmth that came over her as the sun shined down on them.  
By this time, Zayn had already thrown Laquisha into the sea, laughing as she squealed at the temperature of the water.  
She was quickly followed into the water by Harry and H’lena, who didn’t waste any time in starting up a water fight.  
Georgina settled herself down beside Elise, lying back on the sand and sighing happily.  
Pulling out her book from her bag, she happily exclaimed, “I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages! Finally some down time.”  
Elise smiled, “Is that the latest Jodi Picoult book? I just finished that one yesterday! You’ll love it. I couldn’t put it down!”  
Georgina settled down with her book, as Elise absentmindedly stroked Eva’s head and Liam listened to music on his iPod.  
Niall and Norella looked over at the three of them, and smiled when they caught Liam sneaking glances at Elise, who was oblivious to the attention he was secretly paying her. Norella tried not to laugh when she noticed Louis sneak up and start to pile sand on top of Georgina’s feet.  
Georgina, engrossed in her book, didn’t notice as he covered her feet and legs with sand, burying her from the knees down. Liam chuckled as he saw what Louis was doing, elbowing Elise. Elise looked down at her friend’s legs and started giggling, which she attempted to disguise as a cough as soon as Georgina became aware of her friend laughing.  
“You’re right, this book is really good!” Georgina said to Elise.  
Elise just nodded, not trusting herself to speak, afraid that she’d just start laughing again.  
At this moment Laquisha and H’lena started calling out to the others to join them in the water. “It’s so warm! Come in!!!!”  
Georgina put her book down and attempted to stand up. Uncertain why she couldn’t move easily, she glanced down to her feet and finally noticed that they were covered in piles of sand. Louis sat by her feet, smiling innocently.  
“Problem?” he asked casually.  
Georgina grabbed the sunblock, which was the nearest item to her, and threw it in his direction. “I’m going to kill you!”  
Louis just sat there and laughed. “Umm, not sure if you’ve noticed babe, but you’re not going anywhere any time soon!” He then got up and headed into the water, cheekily waving at Georgina, as she struggled to free herself from the sand prison she was caught in.  
Norella and Niall couldn’t stop laughing as they watched the scene take place in front of them. Norella got out her phone, “Smile George!”  
Georgina lowered her eyes at Norella, “Take my photo, and you die, Norella!”  
Norella snapped the photo regardless, laughing evilly. She grabbed Niall’s hand and pulled him towards the sea. “Let’s go swimming!!!”  
Niall took his keys and cellphone out of his pocket and dropped them on the rug, before letting Norella pull him into the water  
Elise sat quietly. She wanted to go in the water, but she didn’t want Eva to help. She looked so happy playing with the bit of seaweed she had found, but the slope of the beach seemed a little too hard for her to do on her own.  
Liam noticed her looking down. Taking out his earbuds, he turned and said, “Hey Miss Gloomy, what’s the happs?”  
Elise blushed, “Oh nothing, was just thinking of going down to the water, but it looks a little steep...”  
“Oh, just call Eva!”  
“But she’s just having so much fun...” Elise trailed off.  
Liam looked from her to the dog and back again. “You know, that is why you have her... right?” “Yeah, but look at her! She’s so relaxed!” Elise huffed.  
Liam chuckled. “How about, just this once, I carry you to the ocean? It’s a win-win-win situation.”  
“I can figure out two of the ‘wins’ but what is the third?” Elise said, scrunching up her nose.  
“Oh I’ll tell you later. Come on!”  
Elise got up and braced herself. Suddenly her feet were lifted from the ground as Liam lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Elise let out a small sigh and off they went down to the ocean to meet the others.

After a heated water fight, of which the girls won, Zayn suggested that they start building the bonfire, which they were going to cook their dinner on.  
Reluctantly, everyone agreed that they should get themselves dried off and start preparing the fire. Norella and Niall exited the water, holding hands, and she started shivering from the cool early evening air touching her damp skin. Niall pulled her close, sharing his body heat, until they reached their pile of towels. He wrapped one around her shoulders and then pulled her close once again, rubbing her arms to dry her more quickly.  
Liam carried Elise back up to where her towel was and placed her gently back on the ground.  
“Thanks,” Elise smiled gratefully at Liam. Eva had curled up on Elise’s towel and looked up expectantly at her owner. “Come here, Eva,” Elise appreciatively called to her dog, and placed the harness back on her.  
Zayn and Laquisha had begun to build the bonfire, and Niall had to admit it was looking pretty good. Laquisha was brandishing the matches and began to light the bottom tier of wood, pleased to see the fire start to smoke and heat up.  
Just as they started to set up the sausages and roast potatoes over the fire, H’lena called out “Hey gurrrrl!!” as Emilia and her boyfriend came over the sand dunes.  
“Hey guys!” Emilia greeted everybody. “Impressive fire - although if we don’t have a fire permit, I may have to call the police!”  
Zayn looked worried for a second, before he noticed the mischievous grin on Emilia’s face.  
Emilia dumped her stuff by Elise and Liam, giving her friend a hug, before making her way closer to the fire to greet the others.  
“What food have we got guys? We are starving!” Emilia said, smiling at her boyfriend.  
“We’ve got really big sausages!” Harry said.  
Everyone burst out laughing, and Harry quickly tried to correct himself. “No, actually, we’ve got heaps of sausages! They’re already cooking!”  
“Sure that’s what you meant,” H’lena whispered to Harry.

* * * * *

Having finished dinner, Niall pulled out his guitar and started to strum quietly the chords to the Campfire Song Song.  
At first, nobody paid attention to him playing music in the background, until Elise began to softly hum the tune subconsciously. When they got to the end of the first line, Niall sang “bom, bom, bom” before breaking into the next line.  
Everybody burst out laughing. “Are you singing the SPONGEBOB Campfire Song?” asked H’lena, trying not to laugh.  
Emilia turned to her friend and corrected her. “It’s actually the Campfire Song Song!”  
Niall smiled. “So what if I am?” and he began to play louder.  
“We have international pop sensation One Direction here, and you’re choosing to play a song sung by a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea??” Laquisha asked, disbelief in her voice.  
“Yep!” Niall replied, continuing to play.  
After a few repetitions of the song, everybody singing and them getting increasingly louder, Niall did a final flourish on the guitar and stopped the song. “Requests?” he asked the group.  
Harry and Zayn groaned simultaneously. “Please, girls, do NOT say one of our songs. This is supposed to be a holiday!”  
Norella looked at Niall. “Passenger’s “Let Her Go”?  
Niall smiled and began to play the opening line. Norella and Georgina began to sing along, with Elise harmonizing in the background.  
Liam’s eyes widen as he listened to Elise sing. He knew that she was a singer, but had never heard her actually sing before. He softly began to sing Elise’s harmony with her, the two of their voices blending perfectly.

As Niall continued to play, people began to couple off, some heading back to the house, and others going for a walk along the beach. Georgina and Louis headed back up to the house, Georgina complaining that it was too dark to read any longer on the beach.  
“Plus I’ve got sand where sand shouldn’t be! Thanks to THIS guy!” she said, pointing towards Louis. Louis grinned sheepishly, and walked with her back to the house. As they headed towards the house, they could overhear Georgina add, “Plus, I need to pay you back for burying me earlier!”  
“What are you going to do about it, aye?” Louis replied.  
“You’ll see,” said Georgina, before they disappeared over the sand dunes.  
Emilia, Norella and Elise laughed. Those two were DEFINITELY a couple.  
Zayn, Harry and Laquisha were competing in a sandcastle building competition, judged by H’lena. The catch was, they had to do it with their eyes shut. Their laughs could be heard resonating across the beach, as they attempted to build a castle, without the use of their sight.  
Lying on the sand and holding hands, Emilia snuggled into her boyfriend’s arms. She was glad that they’d decided to take this holiday. It was just what everybody needed, and knowing they had six more days away brought a smile to her face. As they lay under the moonlight, they stared at the sea and Emilia leaned in to kiss her boyfriend. “I love you,” she whispered, so only he could hear.  
Liam looked over at Eva and Elise. Both were asleep, curled up beside each other on the sand. Liam gently shook Eva awake, who sat up, ready to go. He then placed his arms around Elise and lifted her gently off the ground. “I’m going to take this one up to bed. She’s exhausted,” he whispered to his friends.  
Niall looked at the sleeping figure of Elise, and asked Liam, “Why don’t you just wake her up? She can go back to sleep when you get to the house.”  
Liam shook his head. “Nah, she’s real cute when she’s asleep. I don’t want to disturb her. And besides, it’s dark. She’ll have trouble navigating across the sand.”  
Saying goodnight to everyone, he called Eva to follow him, and they made their way back to the house.

Before long the temperature dropped significantly and everyone else gathered their things up, and walked back to the house, using the light from the moon to guide their way.  
“I was totally the winner,” announced Laquisha, referring to the sandcastles they had made.  
“Sure, sure,” Zayn said, smiling at his friend.  
When they reached the house, everyone went off to their separate bedrooms, except Niall and Norella who decided to have a coffee in the lounge together first.  
Sipping their drinks, Norella turned to her boyfriend. “You know, before Zayn and Harry asked us not to request any One Direction songs, I WAS going to ask if you could play “Over Again”. Ever since I first heard that song, I’ve always wanted to hear it performed live - harmonies and all.”  
Niall smiled. “Your wish is my command,” he replied, before getting up off the couch and walking down the corridor.  
Minutes later, he returned with his guitar, followed by Harry.  
As they began to play, Norella shut her eyes and lay back on the couch. This was the perfect way to end their first evening away. She felt her breathing slow, as she gradually sank into sleep, the words “I will give you all my heart” the last thing she heard before falling asleep.


	10. Date Déjà-Vu

Kisses showered down on Norella’s face as she woke up to Niall. "Good morning! It’s time for me to be gross and icky and romantic," Niall said in a sing song voice.  
Norella looked at him, puzzled, "But it's not an important day unless I'm forgetting something? Which of course is quite likely!"   
Niall ignored her and asked "Do you need me to jump on you? ‘Cause I can and it would be fun..."  
Norella stopped him right there. "No, it’s ok. I'm up. I'm up!"  
Niall’s face lit up. "Yay! Now put on this outfit and then go see Emilia."  
Norella was completely confused. "Um ok. Can't I have coffee first?"  
Niall chuckled. "Em has it waiting for you. I made it myself!"  
She smiled. She liked that he knew she wouldn't function right without her coffee!  
Niall hopped off the bed and as he went towards the door, he looked back and his gorgeous girlfriend, who was slowly drifting back to sleep. “Norella. If I come back here after my shower and you’re still asleep, you better be prepared for some serious tickling.”  
“Nooo!” she cried, as she quickly jumped off the bed. “Look, I’m up! No tickling necessary!”  
She decided that she needed coffee, before tackling her shower and getting ready, so she headed off to Emilia’s bedroom.  
Knocking on the door, she waited patiently for Emilia to invite her in. Once she heard Emilia’s friendly voice call out to her, she opened the door and went inside, grateful to see that Emilia’s boyfriend had already vacated the room, given her pajama-clad state.  
“So, I really have no idea why Niall insisted I come into your room this morning. He woke me up with kisses, and then gave me my clothes to wear - who does that? - and then he said you’d have coffee. I don’t see the coffee,” Norella rattled off, all in one breath.  
Wordlessly, Emilia handed her friend a steaming cup of fresh coffee. “He made a pot of it this morning for you. He wanted today to start perfectly.”  
Norella took a sip of her coffee and sank onto the end of Emilia’s bed. It was delicious. Slightly revived from the caffeine hit, Norella thought it was time to ask the big questions. “So, what’s up with Niall today? Why’s he so keen to make this day perfect? I mean, I’m not complaining. Having a guy dote upon you, from the moment you wake up? This is the life. But, why today? Am I missing something?”  
Emilia smiled, drinking from her morning coffee that Niall had so kindly made for her, also. “You'll have to ask him - I've been sworn to secrecy. All I’m to tell you is that today is about you and Niall. No one else. It’s about your past, but it’s also about your future."  
Norella looked to Emilia, face scrunched up in confusion. “I’m really not feeling ya,” she said.  
Laughing, Em put her arm around her friend. “Niall just wants this to be perfect. And part of making it perfect is keeping it a surprise. Just go with it!”  
Having finished her coffee, Norella got up off the bed. “I guess I should go get ready then! Thanks for the coffee. I would thank you for the pep talk, too, but that was less than helpful!”  
Emilia laughed. “Enjoy your day, love! We’ll chat later, ok?”

Norella went back to her room, collected her outfit for the day and made her way to the ensuite bathroom. After showering, getting dressed and doing her hair, she emerged back into her bedroom to find Niall standing by their bed, looking sharp in his outfit.  
“Now, I have to do my hair, so the boys are waiting in the lounge to keep you company, while you wait.”  
Shrugging her shoulders, Norella grabbed her handbag and went down the stairs to the living room. Zayn, Harry and Louis were hanging out on the beanbags. The girls were down on the beach and Liam was nowhere to be found.  
“Hey guys! Mind if I join?” Norella asked Niall’s friends.  
“Come on over! Harry’s just showing us his chopstick skills!” Louis answered.  
Harry waved his chopsticks in the air, before continuing to sort Skittles by colour.  
As Norella chatted with the boys, she had a flashback to another day which had started off similar to this. Hanging out with the boys, while Niall did his hair  
A sudden bout of cursing coming from Harry’s mouth brought Norella back to the present. Skittles covered the floor.  
“You loooose!” yelled Louis.  
Norella laughed along with the boys.  
“Ok, beautiful, ready to go?” called out Niall, as he came into the living room.  
Jumping off the couch, she said goodbye to the three guys and went over to Niall. He bent down and kissed her on the lips, at first gently and then more passionately. Reaching one hand up, she ran it through Niall’s blonde hair, sinking into his kiss.  
“Come on, love. We’ve got heaps to get through today,” he said, winking at her, before waving goodbye to the rest of the guys in the house.  
Helping her into the car, Norella did her belt up, as Niall got into the driver’s seat.  
“Ready?”  
Norella nodded. She had no idea what she was ready for, but she trusted Niall. Anywhere that he wanted to take her, she would go.

After an hour of driving around the township, chatting between themselves, Norella finally plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind since Niall had woken her up that morning. “So, umm, what’s so special about today? Did your new album go multi-platinum insert-some-really-impressive-achievement-here? Because you know, that’s awesome, but wouldn’t you want to celebrate with the rest of the guys too?”  
Niall burst out laughing. “No, we haven’t won anything. Although, I think that award title might catch on. It’s to the point, yet pleasantly vague!”  
Norella lightly pushed Niall away as he leant in for a kiss. “Stop mocking me! But seriously, what’s today?”  
Pulling over to the side of the road, Niall parked and turned in his seat to face Norella. “I’m not going to give it all away. I want to keep part of it as a surprise. But considering you don’t have the best memory - through no fault of your own, I might add! - it’s only fair that I tell you that today is our four month anniversary.”  
Silence fell in their car. After processing what Niall had just told her, she smacked him hard on the arm. “YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME BEFORE TODAY!” she cried out, her voice a mix of horror and slight humour. “I don’t have a present for you. I haven’t planned anything!”  
“That was the point,” Niall slowly explained. “This day is all about you. I want to make it perfect. I didn’t want you stressing about it, so thought I’d surprise you. So...surprise!”  
Norella couldn’t stay mad at him when she saw the cheeky smile playing across his lips. Why did he have to be so cute? It made being angry almost impossible.  
She leant in and kissed him, feeling Niall relax as she reassured him that he was forgiven.  
“Sorry about hitting you...” she mumbled, before kissing him again.  
“Mm, all good,” Niall murmured, moving his lips onto Norella’s neck, causing her to sigh quietly.  
Pulling away from her, he then said, “Anyway, our actual plans for tonight start at 4pm. But I wanted to spend the whole day with you. So I thought maybe we could go find somewhere quiet, get lunch, play guitar. Does that sound ok?”  
“Sounds perfect,” agreed Norella, settling back in her seat, as Niall turned the car back on.  
After they drove in companionable silence for a little while, Norella spotted a park on the side of the road, that was thankfully almost empty. The only person there was an older lady, walking her dog. The rest of the green space was theirs for the taking.  
“How about we hang out there?” Norella suggested. “It looks clean, has heaps of sunlight. Plus there’s no one really there to disturb us.”  
Niall raised his eyebrows. “Disturb us, aye? I thought we were just going to be playing guitar and talking!”  
“You never know...” Norella cheekily suggested, before bursting out laughing. She could never be too serious when in Niall’s company - he brought out the joker in her.

Before too long, they were stretched out under a tree, enjoying the sun streaming onto their faces and laughing as they watched the older woman attempt to stop her dog from chasing the ducks.  
Norella couldn’t help but laugh louder when the woman turned to them, and gave them a stern glare. “Doesn’t seem like she finds this as funny as we do!” Norella managed to say, before breaking down in fits of giggles again.  
Niall pulled Norella towards him, until she was lying almost on top of him. Kissing her forehead, he whispered “I bet she doesn’t approve of this either,” before kissing her more passionately on the lips.  
The woman began to cough loudly, in a very unsubtle manner, muttering to herself about the youth of today having no respect for the older generation.  
Moving off to the side, so she was lying next to Niall, Norella smiled. “Well, I think we managed to brighten up her day,” she said sarcastically.  
“You certainly brightened up mine,” Niall added in a more serious tone, looking lovingly towards his girlfriend.

They lay there, hand in hand, talking about anything and everything under the sun for what seemed like only minutes. It wasn’t until Niall’s stomach began rumbling that they looked at the time and realised that it was after 1pm.  
“Better get some food in you!” Norella said to Niall.  
He got up, and went to the car, returning moments later with a picnic basket so full that it looked like it could feed a small army.  
Seeing Norella’s amused face, Niall smiled shyly. “What?” he asked, innocently. “I like food. And I wasn’t entirely sure what you’d want to eat. So I brought a bit of everything.”  
Opening the basket, Norella saw that he was right. He HAD brought every type of food she could possibly think of.  
They began to eat, and Norella couldn’t help but moan in appreciation as she bit into a piece of Nando’s chicken.  
Smiling, Niall admitted, “I didn’t actually make everything in this. There’s some baking that Laquisha and H’lena did last night for us, and obviously the chicken was bought. But I did make the sandwiches!”  
Norella could tell that he was obviously proud of himself for organising the whole thing. And she had to confess - she was impressed. No guy had ever gone to such an effort to organise a perfect day. And according to Niall, it was only just beginning!  
Looking over at Niall, she saw him extract a piece of folded paper from his pocket. She was unable to see what was written on it, but he appeared to be studying it intently.  
Crawling towards him, she attempted to look over his shoulder to see what it said. His scrawly handwriting didn’t help the situation, and she ended up asking him what it was.  
“Nothing important!” Niall said, a little too quickly, before hiding the paper in his pocket once again.  
Bemused by his reaction, Norell went back to the food, but more than once she found herself wondering what was written on that sheet and why Niall seemed to reluctant for her to find out. Before long Norella and Niall were bursting with all the delicious food from the picnic, Niall lay back down on the grass and motioned for Norella to join him on his chest, sighing as a wave of content flowed over her.  
As to be expected, after having eaten all that food, they both soon fell into a slumber, their breathing falling into a steady rhythm.

Three hours later, Niall woke up rubbing his eyes he looked at his watch. It was five in the afternoon already?! How did that happen? They had just closed their eyes for a second and bam! Three hours gone!  
Gently shaking Norella awake, Niall started to gather their things.  
Opening her eyes slowly and sitting up, Norella looked around her at the darkening park. The sky was still light but there was a darkness to the air around them, the streetlamps now on. “How long was I asleep?” she asked Niall, confused. “I swear I was just resting my eyes!”  
Niall continued to pack up their picnic things and leftover food. “Don’t worry, babe. I fell asleep too. It’s after 5pm now. We have to hurry - our restaurant booking is in half an hour.”  
Norella helped Niall finish packing everything up and they made their way to the car. Once she was settled in her seat, she yawned once more.  
“Don’t tell me you’re going back to sleep!” Niall exclaimed, mock horror on his face. “The night is still young! I’ve got lots more planned for us!”  
Norella laughed, as she fought off another yawn. “You know me, once I’m asleep, it takes me a little while to wake up! But don’t worry. By the time we arrive at the restaurant, I’ll be good as new.”  
Turning on the radio, Niall and Norella sang along to “Lego House” as they made their way towards to the restaurant.  
As they pulled up out front, Niall got up and went round to open Norella’s door. “Now, I know it’s not the same restaurant but I spent hours searching the internet for one with a similar menu.”  
Norella looked confused. “Similar to...what, exactly?”   
Niall stopped talking. Damn it! He had wanted this to stay a surprise. Quickly busying himself, locking the car, he tried to cover up that he’d let slip. “Oh, I just meant that I tried hard to find a restaurant that was similar to the ones that I know you like.”  
“Oooo-k,” Norella drew out her words, confused at how on edge Niall seemed. He was taking today’s anniversary very seriously.  
Holding hands, they entered the restaurant. The waitress greeted Niall by name and smiled pleasantly. She lead them to their table, which was by the window, and looked out at the still ocean. Niall held out Norella’s chair for her, before taking his own.  
Norella looked around. Something was off. The restaurant was quiet. Too quiet. “Where is everyone? The menu says this restaurant is 4.5 stars. I thought more people would be here.”  
Niall smiled. “Oh, that. I booked the whole restaurant. I didn’t want us getting disturbed by anyone.”  
Norella couldn’t believe it. “You did that? For us?”  
Niall nodded. “Of course. I’ve done it a couple of times for us now - I’m not sure if you remember those dates, or not. It means that we avoid any unnecessary paparazzi disruptions. And it also means we can kiss without offending anyone.” Niall winked at his girlfriend across the table.  
Norella couldn’t help but laugh. “Like that lady in the park! She was hilarious.”  
“She didn’t seem too impressed, I have to say,” Niall admitted. “But I certainly enjoyed it!”

After what seemed like years, Norella finally decided what she wanted to order. Niall called the waitress over and gave her their orders, before turning his attention back to his girlfriend, who was smiling at him from across the table.  
Reaching for her hand, Niall held it between his own, gently rubbing the top of it with his thumbs.  
“So, have you been enjoying our holiday so far?”  
Norella smiled broadly. There were no words to describe how amazing the past three days had been. After their first day at the beach, everyone had spent the second day just lying on the beach or in the living room, playing board games and swimming. “It’s been perfect,” Norella answered truthfully. “I can’t believe today’s only our third day away. Seeing the boys away from the cameras and stress of the paparazzi has been so much fun - and the fact that everybody is getting on so well with each other just makes it even better.”  
“I completely agree,” Niall added. “This was the best way to end the Summer. I know when we get back we’ve got our European tour, and you’ve got work to return to. I just don’t want this week to end.”  
Niall squeezed Norella’s hand and she leaned forward to kiss him gently on the lips. “This week may have to end, but this - what we have between us - this is forever.”

The rest of their time at the restaurant went smoothly. Their meals were delicious - Niall insisted on Norella sharing his spaghetti with him, and they halved their desserts, neither able to choose just one option that they wanted.  
As they left the restaurant, thanking the staff for their excellent service, as well as their consideration not to ask for photos with Niall, they headed down to the wharf.  
Walking side by side in companionable silence, Niall reached for Norella’s hand and she gladly accepted it. It would never get old, holding his hand and knowing that she was the only girl for him.  
The night air temperature had dropped significantly since they entered the restaurant. There was a slight breeze, whipping up the ocean and causing Norella to regret leaving her jacket in the car. She felt a shiver go up her spine, as they continued to walk closer to the sea.  
Holding her waist, Niall lifted Norella up onto the barrier between the footpath and the beach, before jumping up beside her. It was then that the noticed the goosebumps on her arms, and the occasional shivers that she was doing her best to hide from him.  
Taking his jacket off, he slung it over her shoulders. “Here we go, love. Let’s get you warmed up a bit.”  
As she snuggled closer to him, letting his body heat warm her up, everything fell into place. The outfit he had picked for her. The restaurant. The wharf. The jacket. She clicked. Everything about tonight had been a recreation of their first month anniversary. The anniversary that she had struggled to remember because of her accident.  
“All of this. Tonight. You were doing it so I could relive our anniversary, weren’t you?”  
Niall smiled shyly and looked at his feet. “It was such a perfect anniversary. It saddened me to think that it was taken away when that car hit you. So I thought that we could do it again. Tonight seemed like the best night for it.”  
Norella couldn’t stop herself from kissing him hard on the mouth. “Who would have thought you could be so sentimental?” she joked. “But in all honesty, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Not to mention the most romantic. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”  
Niall pulled out the paper from his pocket that she had seen him looking at earlier. Unfolding it, he showed it to Norella. It was a list of every detail he could remember from their original date. From the food, to the time of the day, to the clothes they were each wearing.  
Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him, pouring all her love and emotion into that singular gesture. “There are no words to explain how much this means to me. How much YOU mean to me,” she mumbled into his chest, as she continued to hug him.  
Getting down from the ledge, Niall scooped Norella up in his arms. Holding her close, he carried her back to their car, occasionally stopping to kiss her - on the tip of her nose, her forehead, her neck and her lips. Anywhere he could to show her how much she meant to him.  
When they reached the car, he unlocked it and placed Norella in her seat. Taking his own at the wheel, he gave her one more kiss before starting the car and driving them home.

Upon reaching their house, they saw that all the lights were still on.  
“Everyone must be still up,” Norella thought aloud.  
“I’m sure they want to hear about how tonight went,” Niall admitted. “They were all quite involved in the planning processes!”  
Norella laughed. “I’m sure they’re waiting for details. I know Emilia and Elise will be anxious to know what we ended up doing all day!”  
As soon as they entered the house, Liam paused the movie they were all watching, and everyone turned expectantly to the couple.  
“Soooo, how did it go?” Louis asked, a smile playing on his lips.  
“It was great,” Niall began.  
“And it helped me remember. I remember more about our first anniversary now. Everything’s coming back to me,” added Norella.  
“That’s awesome!” Emilia excitedly called out, running up to hug her friend. “I bet my input this morning was what made the difference!”  
“Of course!” Norella giggled. “Because you gave SO much away!”  
Laughing, the two friends hugged again.  
“Anyway, guys, lovely to see you all, but I think it’s time I take my lovely girlfriend to bed.”  
Everyone in the lounge began whistling catcalling as Niall lead Norella up the stairs to their room. As they shut their door, they could just make out Harry saying, “Make sure you keep it down. We’ll need to sleep tonight!”  
Safely behind closed doors, Niall turned to face Norella and kissed her. He would never get tired of the feeling of their lips pressed together.  
Kissing him back, Norella then pulled away and innocently asked, “Now what?”  
Niall just smiled. “Now it’s time to remind you how our first anniversary ended.”


	11. Bump In The Road

The next day, the magnificent sunshine was gone and the sky was covered by grey clouds. Everyone had gotten so used to waking up when the sun began to shine through their windows, they’d stopped setting alarms. While this plan worked every other day that they’d been on holiday, today there was no sun waking them up, no light coming through their curtains to act as an alarm clock.   
By 10:00am, everyone was still asleep. Only Elise was up. She was used to her normal routine of getting up and doing a couple of hour’s study before breakfast that she was struggling to break the habit, even while on holiday.  
Sitting at the large dining room table, she lamented the fact she hadn’t brought any of her work with her. Frustrated and bored, she snuck back into her bedroom, using Eva to navigate her way through the room so as not to bump into anything and wake Liam.  
Grabbing her jacket and iPod, Elise made her way back out into the living room and then outside. Breathing in the fresh air, she put in her iPod, selecting her favourite playlist and started walking across the sand dunes, grateful for Eva’s help.  
Singing along to herself, Elise was lost in the music and stopped being so careful as she walked. No sooner had she stopped paying attention to the uneven ground she was walking over, she felt her ankle turn and her leg give out on her. Unable to hold herself up, she fell, putting out her hands to stop herself, like she’d been taught as a child. Her hands hit a sharp rock and she yelped in pain as she collapsed to the sand, her ankle throbbing and her hand starting to bleed.  
“Oh great,” she said aloud. “Blood, just what I needed to see.”  
Closing her eyes, she tried to forget the image of bright red beads forming on her skin but it clouded her vision. She felt herself get dizzy and slowly slip out of consciousness.  
She was briefly aware of Eva whimpering beside her but then there was nothing. 

* * * * *

Back in the house, everyone was slowly making their way out of bed and into the kitchen for breakfast. Harry was up cooking pancakes, and Niall was busy stealing them off the stack.  
“Seriously, mate, if you don’t slow down, there’s going to be none for anyone else!”  
“But. They. Taste. So. Good,” Niall said, in between mouthfuls.  
Leaning over him, Norella kissed him on the cheek before taking the pancake held in Niall’s hands and putting it in her own mouth. “Wow, these are really good!” Norella said to Harry.  
Harry just smiled. “Turns out my time spent working in that bakery wasn’t for nothing, then!”  
Laquisha walked into the kitchen and started raiding the fridge for toppings. “Maple syrup. Lemon. Sugar. Chocolate sauce. Strawberries,” she listed, ticking them off on her fingers as she pulled them from the fridge and placed them on the kitchen counter.  
“Guys, has anyone seen Elise this morning?” Emilia asked, concerned.  
Everyone shook their heads, and then looked towards Liam.  
Liam shrugged. “She was already gone this morning when I woke up. I assumed she was with one of you two,” he said, nodding towards Norella and Emilia.  
“Haven’t seen her since last night,” they both replied.  
Looking outside, Liam saw that it had started to rain and that visibility was reduced, due to the light mist that had begun to descend. “I’m going to go out and see if she’s gone for a walk. Wouldn’t want her getting a chill in this weather.”  
Putting on his hoodie, he pulled the hood up and went outside, bending his head to protect his face from the falling rain. He called out for Elise and received no answer, so he started moving towards the beach, keeping a lookout for the lost girl.  
He heard Eva whimper before he saw either of them. Elise was stretched out on the ground, and didn’t seem to register his approach.  
As he got closer, he saw that Elise was passed out cold, her clothes soaked through and Eva refusing to leave her side. Liam leaned down and picked Elise up, putting her arms around his neck, before standing up.  
Elise’s eyes fluttered open and looked into Liam’s brown orbs. “Hey,” she said quietly. “Fancy seeing you here.”  
Liam chuckled. “You never fail to surprise me, Elise.” Pausing he gazed down kindly at the girl, before asking, “What were you doing down there anyway?”  
Elise tried to shrug. “I went for a walk. Was too busy listening to music to pay attention to the uneven ground. I fell. My ankle turned and I can’t seem to move it.”  
Hearing this, Liam walked more quickly towards the house, aware that they were both getting wet and that Elise was in pain. 

Bursting through the door, Liam called out to the others, who were all tucking into their food around the dining room table.  
“Can someone grab some towels? Elise has fallen over and is soaking wet, not to mention injured.”  
Liam carried Elise through to the bathroom, and sat her down on the end of the bath. “I’ll, umm, get the girls to bring you in some new clothes and towels. I’ll come back when you’re, umm, dry, to take you to your room.” Liam looked to Elise for her approval.  
“Thank you, Liam,” she said. “Really, thanks.” 

Moments later, Emilia and Norella came through the door, with a pile of towels and a pair of clean pajamas.  
“We figured you aren’t going to be doing much today, so you may as we be comfortable!”  
They left Elise, allowing her to dry off and change out of her wet clothes. Drying her hair of as much excess water as possible, she was just finishing up when Liam knocked on the bathroom door.  
“Come in.”  
Liam came in, and checked she was ok, before picking her up again and carrying her through to their room. Laying her down on her bed, he checked that she had her book near her, as well as had her foot elevated.  
“I’ll come back to check on you later, ok? You try and get some sleep.”  
Smoothing her hair down, he smiled at her, his eyes lingering on her face for a moment too long, before turning and leaving the room. 

Everyone else was sprawled out across the living room, tossing up what movie to put on. Niall and Norella were curled up into each other on the couch, Niall playing with his girlfriend’s hair. The two of them looked like they were in their own world, not at all concerned with what movie the others in the group chose.  
Holding up a number of DVDs, Harry asked everyone for their opinions. “Are we going with a scary movie, or a comedy?”  
“No romance, please!” Zayn begged.  
Louis nudged Georgina in the side. “We’ve got plenty of romance going on, without watching any romantic movies!”  
Georgina felt Louis’ hand move to the small of her back, as he pulled her close for a kiss.  
“Ok, seriously guys, we need rules about PDA in this house!” H’lena cried out.  
Laughing, Louis pulled Georgina off the couch. “On second thoughts, I’m not really that interested in watching a movie. Enjoy. Georgina and I will go and make our own fun!”  
“Eww, way too much information!” Emilia squealed. “Keep it to yourself!”  
After Louis and Georgina had left the room, the rest of the group finally decided on a movie and put it on.  
Niall asked if there any snacks for their movie adventures and Norella, Laquisha and H’lena headed into the kitchen, returning quickly, arms full of food. They passed out the bags of chips, and packets of biscuits to the members of their group, before they settled themselves back on their respective couches.

As the movie went on, Liam decided to get up and check on Elise. Walking to their bedroom door, he knocked and waited for Elise to answer.  
He heard a muffled answer, but was unable to work out what was being said.  
Opening the door, he caught Elise quickly wiping her eyes, before she tried to smile at him.  
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Liam asked, closing the door and coming towards her.  
“I’m fine. Just being silly,” Elise answered.  
Liam took her hands in his. “You’re not being silly. Just tell me, what’s up?”  
“I’m just sore, and feel so stupid for falling over this morning. And it’s hard hearing everyone having fun out there while I’m stuck in here.”  
Liam thought for a minute. “Firstly, you’re not stupid. You just need to be a little more careful! Secondly, I’ll go and grab you some pain medication. I’m sure someone will have packed some. And lastly, you need to stay up in bed to rest, but that doesn’t mean you have to be alone! The movie they’ve chosen is boring anyway - it’s certainly got nothing on Toy Story!”  
Liam let go of Elise’s hands and began to move around the furniture in the room.  
“Umm, what on earth are you doing?!” Elise asked, clearly confused.  
“Just a bit of rearranging. Give me a sec.”  
Having moved the nightstand out of the way, Liam began to push his single bed towards Elise’s. Eventually the beds were pushed flush against each other, one larger bed replacing their previously two separate ones. He unfolded the blanket at the end of the bed and climbed on top of his bed, putting his arms around Elise and pulling her into him.  
Elise winced as her ankle moved slightly as she moved into Liam’s arms. A tear slipped down her cheek as the pain radiated up her leg, and Liam held her closer, gently rubbing her arms.  
Liam bent down and whispered to Elise, “Don’t be scared, I ain’t going nowhere.”  
She turned up to look at Liam and smiled gratefully. “Thank you,” she whispered, but she was unable to say anything more, because Liam’s lips were then on hers, kissing her gently.  
Breaking apart, Elise sighed happily. Ever since they’d met, she had felt a connection with Liam and in this moment, she finally knew for sure that he had felt it too.  
She felt his arms wrap protectively around her and she let her head fall onto his shoulder, as he pulled the blanket over the two of them.  
Closing her eyes, she no longer felt any pain from her injury. She knew it was still there, but all she could feel was the warmth of Liam’s body pressed against hers.

* * * * *

It was early evening by the time they got out of bed and joined the rest of their friends in the living area. Elise was able to weight bear on her ankle, but it was still tender, so Liam held her arm, while Eva walked protectively beside them.  
Moving into the room, they saw everyone congregated around the dining room table, talking excitedly.  
“Hey guys,” Elise greeted them all, before settling down in one of the chairs gratefully.  
“Elise!” Norella ran up to her friend to give her a hug. “How are you feeling?”  
“Better. Still a bit sore, but...better.” As she said the last word, she looked to Liam beside her and smiled shyly. Norella followed her line of sight and couldn’t help smiling too.  
“Looks like we have you to thank for her feeling better,” Norella said to Liam.  
Liam simply smiled, before sitting down at the table next to Elise and asked everyone else what they were talking about.  
“Plans for tomorrow!!” Laquisha exclaimed happily.  
“Plans for...what exactly?” he asked curiously.  
“So, the weather’s supposed to be nice tomorrow, and we thought it would be cool to make a water slide down the sand dunes,” explained Niall. “The water slide part was my idea,” H’lena added proudly.  
“Georgina and I will head into town in the morning to get the supplies,” said Louis, picking up where Niall had left off. “Harry and H’lena have already chosen the perfect spot to set it up.”  
Emilia shook her head in amusement. “When I thought of coming away with you guys, I pictured a relaxing holiday, where we spent our time being mature-like, and low-key.” Stopping speaking, she then broke into a smile and added, “But I have to admit, a water slide sounds like a fantastic idea!”  
The table cheered.  
“Of course, there will be a bit of friendly competition,” Zayn cut in. “Hazza needs to redeem himself after his terrible performance yesterday in the Skittle competition! Plus Laquisha won’t stop talking about how she won the sand castle contest.”  
“Bring it on!” Laquisha retorted.  
Under her breath, H’lena added, “It’s already been brought,” quoting one of their favourite movies, and all the girls burst into giggles, while the guys looked on confused.  
“I’m glad we’ve got tomorrow sorted out, but can we start thinking about dinner?!? I’m starving!!!” interrupted Niall.  
“One. Track. Mind,” murmured Harry, as they stood up from the table to move into the kitchen.  
As people were filing out of the room, Norella turned to Niall. “He says you have a one track mind, but I know there’s definitely one other thing on it,” she said cheekily, smiling cutely before walking out of the room, taking time to turn around and wink at him, before heading into the kitchen.


End file.
